Tonight is a very special edition of OSN’s “Jewced Up” Radio. The guys will have OneSeason co-founders Mike Sroka AND DJ Burdick on the air to talk about OneSeason. OneSeason Radio hosts Jewcer2k5 and SurfingOneFour will be joined by co-hosts and callers for this special episode tonight. Don’t miss it! Here is the official announcement straight from the mouths of the OSN Radio hosts themselves.

www.oneseasonnation.com/radio

Over the past few weeks I have spent many a night crying myself to sleep on my huge pillow feeling neglected.
But tonight the Jewcer is back hosting the show with myself (surfing)OneFour
So tune in tonight for our Greatest Duo Edition of Jewced Up Radio

Tonight on our our Greatest Duo Edition of Jewced Up Radio.
Lets talk about the happenings at Oneseason and the OneSeason Nation

- Live interview with Mike and DJ (another great duo)
We’ve all heard interviews with Mike where the questions he was asked they knew he could not answer.
So don’t waste his time, DJ’s time, and most importantly my time asking questions you know he cant answer.
Anyone in the know understands that Mike and DJ cannot answer certain questions.
So use the grey matter between your ears and ask questions that they can actually respond to.

- Dont ask about:
Potential future features (they can’t tell us plus why ruin the surprise)
Number of users or money on the site (really???, How about you tell me about your finances)
Future marketing strategies (you know they can’t tell us this info)
Use your brains
Don’t ask them 300 questions about hockey or Tiger Woods.

- Put away your crystal balls and lets talk about what happening in the current, the present, in the NOW!!!

Lets give our boys some feedback about the current system.
Ask about features that need improvement and what might help
Talk about features that you don’t think are needed at all
Pretty much we are here to help them create this amazing website with us.
And of course someone please call in and bitch about ghost orders so I can introduce you to a dial tone.

- Remember Mike and DJ are GUESTS on OUR show
They are donating their time to come on here to do our Radio show.
They wouldn’t be doing us this favor if they did not respect us.
So please treat them with respect, like guests should be treated, they are VIP on OUR show.
This should be really cool and alot of fun having them on tonight.
If you don’t treat them with respect you can STFU and get used to a dial tone cause Ima hang up on you.
I’m not messing around you are not coming on Jewced Up Radio to shit on my guests.

- Can we get a nOObie on the line (last week Nysanity blew it up)
Tell Mike and DJ your first impression of oneseason and why you joined?
What do you think this place all about? Did you learn that from oneseason.com?

- The IPO list (cause everyone loves IPOs)
Who’s been moving up the list?

Best Buy
Whats a radio show without talking about best buy?

- NBA Playoffs
Can the self proclaimed “Superman” take down the self proclaimed “Chosen One?”
Can Kobe get out of the REAL Supermans (Shaq) shadow or will Denver ruin his chances?

- NBA Draft and Draft Lottery Results
Who’s the best pick for your favorite team?
Who’s going to win Rookie Of the Year?
Who’s IPO/SOI are you looking forward to and why?

- Michael Vick (out from behind bars and back on the field?
What team do you think he’ll end up with?
What position do you think he’ll play?
Any Pitbull owners wanna chime in? (hint, hint)
What about his IPO/SOI? How will it fair? (Currently #41)

- Hockey
Its still playoff time (maybe someone knows and wants to talk about this)

You never know whats gonna happen on Jewced Up Radio

www.OneSeasonNation.com/radio

1) Will OS make any effort to inform users who deposited the $2,500 max in 2008 that they can deposit more money for calendar year 2009 if they so desire, before their 1yr. anniversary date? Perhaps send out a monthly news letter telling people the state of the site, what improvements have been made, etc? The folks who are part of the OneSeason Nation are all up to date, by the minute, with OneSeason news, but I think a lot of people, especially new users don’t know there is a OneSeason Nation where they can get all the help they need?

Answer:  Yes, I think it is highly likely that this will be included in a future newsletter(s).

Answer: No.  OneSeason is for the fun and entertainment of (living) sports fans.  Accounts cannot be transferred among users (alive or dead).

Answer: We do not currently anticipate charging any listing fee’s for placing orders.  We have been working on some adjustments to prevent the repeat orders that have been occurring.  The display of Trade Orders should minimize the distraction of any orders placed far away from recent activity.

Answer:  Right now we are focused on building a system that is intuitive and accessible to a large audience.

Answer:  The investment provides the company with additional resources for our operations (includes all of the above) so that we can continue to build out our system.

Answer:  I agree with the intention of your suggestion, let us think about the best way to implement.

Answer:  This is something that we have thought about and will continue to revisit but really would prefer to design in such a way that folks look at what matters from the start (otherwise it is just deferring the issue).

Answer:  Wow, this is the best and most important question that I have been asked.  I would have to say both.  That way Gisele would assume that I was with Adriana, Adriana would assume that I was with Gisele during which time I could chase Erin Andrews and get some work done.

Answer:  Alex works with a group in Seattle that does some contract work for us helping to manage social/viral/community buzz.  When the company that he works for is engaged with OneSeason, his trading ability is suspended and prohibited.

Answer:  OneSeason continues to be built in logical phases.  Building and stabilizing the trading system along with achieving proof of concept can now be checked off.  Gone are the days of pre-launch assumptions as we now have live operating data and can see what features people like/use, what needs to be improved and what should be removed.  At this point we have a product/service that is approximately 25% of what we envision existing and are working methodically to build it out.  Based on the usability information, we have been working on some redesigns which you will begin to see implemented over the coming weeks along with a number of new features.  OneSeason has begun to encourage content providers to use the platform for distribution.  This includes widget, data and feature embeds on other websites as well as the development of 3rd party applications on and around OneSeason.com.  As this virtual goods marketplace and social gaming platform for online sports entertainment gets more complete, we will become more aggressive on attracting users to a clean, intuitive, compelling experience.  Optimizing and scaling a product/service that is appealing to a broad audience is the next chapter to be written for our story.  I cannot provide any more detail about the timeline or potential future releases.  We are hopeful that you enjoy the system as it is currently available and are working hard to continually improve the site.

Mike Sroka is back for a SuperBowl edition of Ask Mike! exclusively at the OneSeason Nation! If you have a question you’d like to ask Mike, please send your questions to bullpup@oneseasonnation.com!

Q: Does participation in an IPO (meaning sheer number of people who requested) impact the maximum percentage a person can get of that IPO? Does it impact the total number of shares that are released? Both? We are wondering if people who think they are on the bubble and cancel their requests are only giving the people at the front of the line a higher % of the shares?

A:  The total number of people who requested a particular IPO is not directly contemplated in the allocation process currently.  The total number of SOIs that are requested is one of the data points used as an indication of the current demand.  We want to ensure that IPOs are allocated to a relatively broad group so the number of SOIs requested by individuals in the time-stamped line-up will influence the max percentage.  Canceling requests will only improve the likelihood of someone behind you receiving an allocation.

A:  There is no middleman in our system like a market maker or specialist, rather it is a hyperactive matching platform that matches overlapping orders and provides best execution available for both parties.  In order to do so, the system queries the outstanding orders and where there is overlap it takes the highest Buy offer and Lowest Sell offer and averages between them.  This balances the interest of buyers and sellers executing the order within specifications.

A:  It was pretty interesting watching these two players fly up the IPO list.  FITZ was exactly the same, BIGB was the same process although implemented a little differently I guess.  While the metrics indicated release of new IPO (for BIGB), by the time we were able to get our team ready for it, the market was in decline (Red).  Previously we have issued players when the metrics indicated release of new IPO and the market was experiencing  an uptick (Green).  Given that the metrics looked good to go and so many people wanted him available for the Super Bowl we decided to Issue.

A:  Yes, it has been designed and will likely be implemented in the near future.

A:  We see the core of our company being the trading platform that enables and unifies all kinds of other activity.  The biggest advantage of application/open platform models is that you harness lots of creative minds and the market/userbase determines the content that adds value to the experience.

A: We do not expect to add any new sports in the next 3 months as we are focused on building out the features and functionality.

A:  Thanks!  Good suggestion from you guys…keep em coming.  The IPO List updates in real time.

A: Our Team is roughly the size of an NBA Roster and we have added approximately 2 people/month since launch.

Session 6 of Ask Mike is here for your enjoyment. Thanks to OneSeason and Mike Sroka for continuing this program for the Nation. Thanks to Boonflop for gathering the questions. Session 7 to come soon. Get your questions in to Boonflop in the forums!

Thekid  Will there ever be risk limits placed when entering orders? For example, you can only place orders with a limit price of +/- 25 cents current best bid or best offer to prevent manipulation and trading mistakes.

Answer:  Order confirmations should prevent mistakes when placing an order.  We do not want to interfere with willing buyers and sellers transacting by putting limits on the orders that can be placed.  This seems to be consistent with how other marketplaces (market systems) operate.  Hopefully the recent changes to the Trade Orders screen improves the transparency and usability.

2. Tdpenny2000 — Multiple part question: Why was PORT released next day as opposed to the 2 day wait we have seen with all the other IPOs? What determines what time during the day the IPO is actually released (not announced)?

Answer:  There is no set time period for when IPO’s will be released relative to the Notice of Upcoming Issue.  We want to balance providing users with enough time to put in their indication of interest (request to obtain SOIs) while not freezing funds for longer than necessary.

We started out announcing the time of day an IPO would be released but this caused a massive spike in activity (lots of concurrent users hitting refresh) causing poor system performance.  We now release IPO’s at an unspecified time when our development team can monitor the release and ensure the issuance occurs properly.

3. DrDread — HHHHmMMMmmmm.. Maybe a question on a Quick update for Canada and how it’s going? Maybe ask him if he expects more Hockey IPO’s with More Canadians on the site and will it be more than NFL (since no one beating the NBA.)

Answer:  I do not have any update on the timing of potentially expanding into the Canadian market.  As mentioned previously, operating in new markets requires a lot of work relating to legal research, payment processing and fraud prevention.  During our first 12 weeks of operation we have not been able to complete this work yet.

4.New2Boston — Is someone is working on improving graphing?

Answer:  YES!  We have begun tackling some of the front end clean-up items and you should see improvements to the graphs shortly.

5.TdPennyWhat is the purpose of the reserved cash remaining reserved until the shares are sold?
Answer:  The purpose behind the entire IPO process is to create a flat system that encourages active use of the site and provides everyone with an equal opportunity to participate.  IPOs should be special but must also stimulate activity in the secondary market.  Users do not actually pay to obtain IPOs but this is balanced with potential opportunity costs associated with having funds not available for other purposes.  This is consistent with the above mentioned goals as it spreads out the allocation of IPOs and creates an incentive to sell into the secondary market.

6.TDPenny What is the typical day like for you guys?

Answer:  I think that I speak for everybody here when I say this is our dream job.  That being said, getting this company humming along requires significant commitment and I could not be prouder of our team and all of their hard work so far.  One of the many stimulating things about this experience is that there is no typical day.  We have a small team and a TON of work to do so everybody has to wear a lot of hats.  Operating a new market that is open 15 hours a day, 6 days a week and much of the development occurs after market hours and on Saturdays means office is home.

7. Biggins Wht is ur guys thoughts on the negative pessimistic misleading untrue pyramid ponzi scheme crap that is polluting the OneSeason boards ask him that we know its not true but why they allow people to say all those false statements or try and scare people into leaving oneseason because its failing

Answer:  I think that we are going to have to start moderating the message boards as these false and misleading statements do not add value to the OneSeason community.  It has been our preference to allow users to interact as they please as long as it is not threatening or offensive.  We underestimated the amount of time and energy some folks are willing to commit to something that they apparently do not like.  This is unfortunate for them, we hope that they find what they are looking for but will not facilitate this activity in the future.

8. Slappy ask him what he thinks about all of the people who are coming up with all of their ways and ideas and theories about rescuing OneSeason from the coming apocolypse. does 1season need saving?

Answer:  We always want to hear suggestions from our users and want to move forward with the best system possible.  We launched OneSeason 12 weeks ago and are just getting started.  There is a ton of stuff designed that we are working to implement.  The only way we know how to accomplish these things is in phases (build, open, tweak, repeat).  We are thrilled with the progress we have made thus far and are way ahead of where we expected to be right now.  We are hopeful that folks enjoy the current functionality and will be patient as the platform is built out.  I encourage everyone to review the evolution of other popular systems for reference frame on the necessary time associated with building out a successful product.

9. BB  some people believe that a flood of new user signup is not a top priority for you guys at this time. is this true? if so, how far out do you project that driving huge amounts of traffic to the site like we saw in october, will be your number 1 priority?

Answer:  Our top priority is building out a great product.  As mentioned above, we still have a lot of work to do just to implement the things that have been designed.  We want to stay disciplined and follow our initial plan: build and stabilize trading system, improve social features and open functionality to 3^rd parties, attract content producers to use the platform, attract users to a compelling offering.  Please note that the early spikes in traffic were viral (user and media driven not company driven) and attracted a lot of folks that do not usually consume online sports entertainment.  Ideally, we would like to achieve moderate, steady growth with users that want to be a part of a new, exciting way to enjoy sports online.

Ask Mike Session #5. Get your questions for future Ask Mike sessions to bullpup@oneseasonnation.com

From Nation Member UpNComin

Can someone redeposit an additional $2500 after they have withdrew their original $2500. This is in case someone has second thoughts and wants to re buy in.

No, the maximum amount that you can transfer into the system is $2,500 for any 12 month period. Transfers out of the system do not affect this.

From Nation Member UpNComin

Did OS change the pricing calculator to include the last 10 trades?

No, there are not currently any changes made to the price weighted average of the 3 most recent trades that determine SOI Price

From Nation Member TheKid

In the interest of making the market more tradeable, have you considered using liquidity providers? For example, a market maker in AIRJ would work both a bid and an offer on 10 SOIs, with a bid/ask spread of no more than, say, $.20. They of course could adjust those bids and offers as they see fit, as long as they stay within that $.20 bid/ask spread. This can be very profitable for a skilled market maker and would provide liquidity to the markets. As an incentive to provide this service, market makers would receive discounted commissions.This is the same as locals in the futures market, market-makers in the bond market, specialists in the equity market. These guys make the markets go!

Yes this is something that we have considered and are open to although the company cannot be the one to provide it due to legal constraints. This is a potential opportunity for a 3rd party application as we are able to open up the platform more.

Hi Mike,
I signed up on Oct 1st and I checked all the faqs and and Terms and Conditions and there were no indication that you would have to be in US to sign up. It was weeks after that this information was put in the website. Is there any plan to let the Canadians take out the money they earned just like everyone else? Especially those that signed up before the Terms were changed on the website to indicate you have to reside in US?

It is very important to us that we comply with all applicable laws in the jurisdictions that we operate using best practices. Prior to launch we had focused all of our legal research on the United States and do not yet feel comfortable operating in other markets for which we do not have a clear understanding of relevant laws and regulations. Currently, in order to transfer funds that represent a recognized gain in excess of $600 ($600 more than was transferred into the system) we must obtain a W-9 which includes a U.S. address along with a Social Security Number or Tax ID. For transfers below this amount, the previously mentioned documentation is not necessary although we are currently only mailing checks to U.S. addresses (part of our fraud prevention). We do intend on moving into other markets as quickly as possible and are working hard to do so.

From Nation Member Chocothunder20

When will they be able to fix the price paid for a share of a player. It keeps averaging the price paid from previous purchases even if you sold all your shares of a particular SOI and then purchased them at a different (lower) price?

We are aware of this issue and expect to implement the necessary changes which we have been working on in the near future.

From Nation Member TDPenny2000

When will the market be closing for the upcoming holiday season.

We do expect to close the market for periods around the holidays. These will be announced on the OneSeason Blog and we will always try to give you at least 5 days notice prior to any scheduled changes to market hours.

From Nation Member DrDread

I would also like to know the time line on expansion (into Canada). Like when we gonna get all those crazy Canadian’s for those hockey IPO’s. Any specific date? If not Could you give us a ballpark

ASAP! We want to be operating in Canada as well as other markets. There is a fair amount of work that must be completed on the legal research/payment processing/fraud prevention/etc. in order to do so. I cannot provide an exact or even ballpark timeframe as this can be influenced by a number of things, some of which are out of our direct control.

From Nation Member DMartin

“Other Fees.
1. Access to or use of certain areas of the Site or portions of the Services may require a subscription or access fee. We will give you at least thirty (30) days notice of the changes in any such charges.”

Could you ask Mike to expand on what types of services on the site will require subscription fees in the future? And the fee structure? (Commission/Flat) I don’t know if he’ll be willing to discuss it, but I was just curious.

Answer: We do not currently have any plans for subscription or access fee’s although it seems likely that applications created by third parties which may be available on the site will use all kinds of models.

Mike Sroka President and CEO of OneSeason.com returns to the Nation to answer YOUR questions!

What is the next most Highly Anticipated time coming for you? Is it a major marketing plan in the works? Getting the servers, capacity if the site ready for big things? 3rd Party devloping? Or perhaps something really cool that we don’t even know about? And any details would be awesome!!!

Thanks,
Eric

P.S. Keep up the great work!! I really think being very hospitable and understanding to all those with questions (many repeated and skeptical) goes a very long way.

Thanks Eric!  I think that we are moving into the next phase.  Now that the foundation is in place we can start building out.  We definitely still have a LOT of clean-up items for the stuff currently displayed but there is a ton of stuff designed that will be implemented over the coming months.  These fall into 3 general categories.  As you can probably tell the social features and content currently available on the site are basically placeholders.  Creating the ability for intuitive, compelling interaction among users is HIGH on our priority list.  Providing access to robust, customizable content is another thing that we want to be good at.  Above all, giving 3rd party developers the ability to create things and monetize their services on the OneSeason platform is the key to getting us to where we want to be.  Allowing users to determine their own experience and watching the directions in which they take it, is and will be the most exciting part of building this company.

(Multiple Same Questions)

First off I would like to say thank you Mike for
agreeing to answer our questions.  After reading your
answers I feel comforted.  Now to the question…Have
you ever thought about hiding the trade orders that
have yet to be filled?  Sometimes it seems like people
can create panic or attempt manipulation by either
showing a very large overpay or a severe undercut when
the market is closed.  Do you think by just showing
the best buy/sell order and orders that have been
already filled is sufficient?

Mike, at the end of each trading day, or before it begins, there seems to be several sell offers on different players for ridiculously low amounts. An example would be 1000 shares @ .05 each! These offers are usually pulled before trading starts the next day but are left long enough in hopes of starting a panic sell off. Is this in One Season’s eyes considered manipulation? Is One Season aware of this situation? Is One Season going to address this activity?

We have been monitoring trading activity closely and with the help of some Nation members have witnessed these occurrences.  Currently, we are of the opinion that OneSeason’s role is to provide a safe, fair marketplace.  This means providing willing buyers and sellers the ability to transact with as much transparency as possible.  Placing trade orders and making trade decisions in an illiquid market (such as outside of trading hours) is often times undesirable.  Ultimately it is and should be the independent judgment of each user if and at what price they are willing to transact.  More information available rather than less seems to be preferable but we will continue to analyze this as we want to move forward with the best system possible.  “Panic” by its definition is irrational behavior.  Free markets have a history of correcting irrational behavior (given with periods of high volatility).

Do you plan to release an API for 3rd party developers to interact with the site, and if so, when might we expect that API?

YES!!!  Keep an eye on the API tab under Company on the bottom of the site and send comments/requests into support.  We are just beginning to open up the platform and expect to do so until we get all the way down to the transactional level.

Hi Mike,

thanks for doing the ask mike section i really enjoy it long live 1season and long live the nation! could you tell us what the reasons are for the low volume trends recently? i know that if the volume is low so must be oneseason’s commissions so I was wondering if you could tell us what the causes are & what you guys are doing right now to increase traffic & activity on the site? thanks mike!!!

This is a question for the market (users) rather than the shlub operators like me.  While lower trading activity does reduce commissions, we are comfortable with it and think that it is healthy for the long term success of the site.  SOIs turning over every hour when nothing has happened/changed does not seem to make a whole lot of sense.  Additionally, trading commissions take money out of your account and out of the market.  If you are paying 1% a day, think about how much you need to gain in a year just to break even.  We want to design for a broad group including: traditional collectible card types who enjoy the novelty of owning and being seen owning a piece of their favorite player/team, fantasy folks who want to compete with their friends and show that they are smarter than everybody else and the trader mentality who looks at this almost like a predictive market and may be speculating on future events.  I happen to fall within all of these groups and expect that as people gain comfort with the system being around for the long haul, the social and virtual goods nature gaining acceptance and cool applications that use your Sportfolio are built that SOI Turnover/User will go down.  The idea is to allow users to manage a stable of players to use in the applications that they choose.  As to the traffic, we will be marketing the site more aggressively but quality of the product/service will determine traction/success.  I guess it is kind of that Field of Dreams Mentality of “if you build it, they will come.”  As the site gets better and better (based on user feedback), we will gain comfort in marketing more and more.  This should also cause more people to tell their friends and it snowballs from there.  As mentioned above, we are building for the long haul, not trying to pump and dump/churn.

Mike, Thank you from the NATION.

Here is the interview w/ OneSeason CEO Mike Sroka. The interview is the 16-39 minute mark of the clip. IPO’s, advertising, highest check issued, and many other topics are all questions asked. Even discussion about AIRJ’s SOI performance. This is an important one to listen to. Post your thoughts in the comments below.

Remember, Mike starts at the 16 minute mark.

I know this isn’t high on your priority list but have you ever thought about some user suggestions for future ticker symbols? I know most are self-explanaotry but I think the dedicated sports fans that use OS could come up with some rather creative yet acceptable symbols for future IPO releases. Just a thought. -GoDJ

It will kill some of the guys here to give up ticker naming (currently done in an open outcry system) but I like it. For the time being just send ticker suggestions to support until we can build a better solution.

If 3rd party applications are developed will it be possible or feasible to trade/bet/exchange stocks outside of the OS website? For example, will we ever be able to go to a 3rd party website and bet 5 stocks of Portis to run for 100+ yards on MNF, or ever have a site where users post a bet of SOI’s looking for takers and have a legitimate way to enforce fair transactions of SOI’s based on the outcome? -Cooltime

I think that it is unlikely that we will be able to allow SOI transactions outside of OneSeason or any private SOI transactions. The open/central marketplace allows a fair, safe way for willing buyers and sellers to transact. These SOIs which may be considered as units or % of ownership may be used in all kinds of applications created by 3rd parties. These 3rd parties may offer goods and services that you can pay for with your OneSeason account. I hope this is not repetitive but we want for folks to manage a stable of players and use them in the applications that they want whether that is fantasy games, pick’em games, challenge games, video games that use connectivity or move online, etc. 3rd parties might also provide Analyst reports or functionality similar to a brokerage. These are just some of my ideas, there are LOTS of people running around smarter and more creative that will do amazing things we hope. We want to create a more efficient and compelling distribution channel for online sports entertainment. That means letting the user determine their own experience and not encroaching on that experience with ads or other junk that does not add value.

Why was the vision of 3rd party development and allowing people to compete with each other using their sportfolios on various 3rd party site not communicated anywhere on the OneSeason website? I think that a lot of people would have understood this right away, and the fact that the SOI’s do have a possible underlying value, would have calmed a lot of fears that people are trading SOI’s for no other reason than to just trade them? -Multiple Nation Members

We do not feel that it is appropriate to state potential future product/service enhancements and features on the website. If you ask me my opinion of what I think is cool and what we would like to build (as this format is doing) I am happy to respond to the best of my ability. We are building the company of our dreams and are hopeful that others will enjoy it. Folks that do not enjoy the current system or are purely motivated by the potential for financial gain do not belong here. OneSeason is for the fun and entertainment of sports fans providing a way to compete and interact. We are in the very early stage of building out this platform and are thrilled at the response it has received thus far.

i believe there was speculation as to an application being developed for the iphone? If this is true is there a timeframe for a release? It is increasingly difficult for myself (and I am sure others as well) to stay on OS while at work, sooner or later I actually have to do real work not monitor OS!!! -Peter

You should be able to access OneSeason on your iPhone right now minus the Flash features which it sounds like apple is working on and may have available in 4-6 months. I can’t give you specifics about future releases but will say that an iPhone app is high on our priority list. We want folks to be able to access OneSeason from any device with internet access.

What happened to the Paypal deposit feature? -Slappy

We are testing our payment options which requires understanding user habits and balancing convenience, fraud prevention and economic efficiency. We would like to offer more transfer options (both in and out) and are working to determine the best offering taking into consideration the above.

From Slappy:

With regards to reverse splits….will an athlete ever reverse split themselves OUT of your portfolio. For instance…if I own 10 shares of BABE, and that equates to .00001% ownership of BABE, and he reverse splits to 5, then to 2.5, then to 1.25, then to .63 etc. If I understand this correctly, my percentage of ownership will continue to be .00001% no matter what happens…I guess the question I pose, is will this player ever reverse split themselves into a position where they disappear from my sportfolio?

Yes and No. Fractional SOIs are not displayed in your Sportfolio and cannot be traded. They are maintained in your account so that if they split to create a full SOI they will re-appear in your Sportfolio and be tradeable.

From IceHockeyRef

Are you still only giving a free $10 to the first 10,000 signups or has that been extended?

We decided to extend the seeding program campaign as so many users were coming through viral sources. It remains a limited time offer.

From Selanne00008

If my question were to be so lucky and get picked, I’d like Mike to elaborate a bit more on advertising. I feel this is defiantely the key to what has been hurting the market the past full week.

When does he expect advertising plans to come to launch? Any specifics sites he is aiming at publicizing at?

We have a number of market campaigns planned some of which are beginning to roll out. The viral growth has been amazing. We are growing for the long term and want to ensure that we can service all the folks coming to the site well.

from brokerboy

will the deposit limit grow as the membership gets bigger. and will the split price be increased in time?

The answer to the first question is NO. The cap on transfers into the system is self imposed. OneSeason is for the fun and entertainment of sports fans, we want to ensure that people are here for these reasons only. The cap is set at a reasonable annual entertainment budget. We do not currently have any plans to increase the split price but are monitoring activity closely to determine the best system. The purpose of the splitting mechanism is to make the system expand or contract as appropriate and allow all users to participate. Splits do not affect percentage of ownership or Total Value.

From inthegame22

What’s the difference between onseason, and another Sports Stock Market allsportsmarket.com , That tanked a few years ago

I am not familiar enough with the model you mentioned to comment on the differences. This is an exciting time in sports entertainment when people are creating lots of different things.

From Kontra

Can you ask him if he thinks that the current valuing of SOIs should be changed? Maybe to include the last 10 prices or to have a more comprehensive price adjustment…it would make more sense with the rising volume of trades and members.

We actually started out in beta testing using a share weighted average of the last 10 trades. In low liquidity environments this gets stretched out over hours and even days which did not seem to reflect an accurate picture of recent transactions. We are monitoring activity closely and want to move forward with the best system possible. Currently we are using a share weighted average of the 3 most recent trade executed to determine the implied Price.

From yurgewd

What are the current barriers for expansion internationally, specifically Canada, and when can we expect to see these issues resolved?

We did a great deal of legal research but at this point it has been focused on operating in the United States. There are also a number of payment processing, tax, currency and language issues that will need to be fleshed out prior to expanding into other markets. It is our hope and expectation to operate across the globe and we are moving as quickly as possible to do so. The first step is ensuring that we have a compelling, stable platform here in the U.S

From Slappy

Many websense and web traffic filter have blocked OneSeason stating it’s a gambling site. We all know it’s not, and my boss is even on OneSeason. Is there any way that this issue can be corrected?

We joked early on that we might need to determine our success by how many corporate firewalls block the site. I believe this is a matter of productivity not legality. We are based in San Francisco and domiciled in the United States. We believe that the operations of OneSeason are in compliance with Federal and State regulations.

From multiple Nation members

Regarding the IPO process, Is it entirely automated? Or is there input required from OneSeason, dictating current market conditions to figure how many of an IPO to issue? In the case of the Oden IPO the range of SOIs was 6000-12000. The actual number turned out to be ~8900. Do you know the actual number up front or how do you determine what the actual number will be as I am sure you had more than 12000 requests for the Oden release.

It is our goal to have the entire system automated and we are getting there. We want issuance to be scientific rather than art. As more operating data comes in we have to tweak the formulas and drivers to create the best system possible. Buy/Sell pressure, Account Composition, User Base, User Growth, Trading Activity, Requests as a % of Users, etc. are all potential inputs.

From Apackin

These ask Mike forums are great, I hope they continue. I have a question for him that I hope you can ask next time….

With every success comes copy cats trying to move in and steal some of that success. How does oneseason plan on differentiating themselves from the competition and always remaining one step ahead? Please give examples if possible.

Thanks and keep up the good work

We filed a series of provisional patent applications resulting in a final utility patent application with 22 claims relating to the Method and System of trading Synthetic Assets. Being first to market and gaining market share has proven to be a substantial barrier to entry in market/network systems (think eBay).We have a LOT of clean-up items and features to add. We are also of the opinion that ideas are cheap, execution is where real value is created. There is a huge opportunity for a more compelling platform in online sports entertainment. We hope to be the ones to provide it but regardless, as sports fans ourselves, want to see this exist.

Question from JWebb

My question for Mike.

I was wondering how big he saw this site to go player wise? Does he see this site expanding to one day have the majority of players in pro sports? I feel as though that would add a little more of how one player does in a game etc. Just wondering. Thanks.

My hope is that we are successful in designing for a very broad audience. Sports are truly amazing in regards to bringing people together and reminding folks that we are all the same. Yes, I hope that in the future we offer the majority of players. I want you to be able to manage a stable of players that you may choose to use in all different kinds of applications.

From Nation member GoDJ416

Mike,

Can you pinpoint the time when you and the other guys looked at each other and said, “oh sh*t…this is going to work and work well,”? Can you describe how that felt?

From the very beginning of pursuing the idea this has been the most exciting and rewarding experience of our lives (definitely for myself and I think I can speak for DJ and the rest of the team). We still have a LOT of work to do but we believe there is a real opportunity to build something great. We hope that it is us but regardless we want this to exist and hope that others share our vision of the future platform and distribution channel for online sports entertainment.

From Nation member ZitoJ83

How far ahead is the actual traffic/user signup compared to your initial business plan? Have you had to revise your 1 Yr / 3 Yr / 5 Yr plans already due to them being low/inaccurate?

We had high expectations for the business but did not expect for the growth to come so quickly. I spent 2 years building and revising models for our company…they have all been thrown out this month as the assumptions are laughable.

From nation member Biggins

What happens when a users account is banned for fraudulent activity, not meeting terms of service, or other similar reasons. What happens to the available cash in the account? What happens to the SOI’s in their Sportfolio? IPOs?

We send big, scary guys to your house in the middle of the night to tattoo “You Suck” on your forehead. Banned users lose access to their OneSeason Account. Cash is held in the user account for an extended period of time and then used for maintenance. SOIs and IPO’s are dissolved (reduces SOIs Outstanding).

From eholl (OneSeason Nation Official Fantasy Basketball Commissioner)

Will users ever be able to withdraw money via paypal? If so will there be a wait time?

We would very much like to offer different ways to transfer money out of the system but honestly this is not on the top of our priority list right now. As to the wait time, this is a fraud prevention feature. Certain pattern recognition and distasteful activities are more easily flagged and discouraged with time…prior to the user taking their funds out of the system.

From Nation member creescalade

What is your reasoning for why we saw the market crash like it did on Tuesday following Oden’s release, when many people anticipated that the market would rise with the cash people had on reserve becoming free? And do you think we will ever see a positive spike again like the one we had in the days leading up to Oden’s annoucement, and do you think we will ever see a crash like we did following it?

I’m afraid I don’t have a very satisfying answer for this one. OneSeason is a virtual goods marketplace for the fun and entertainment of sports fans which permits willing buyers and sellers to transact (free market system). We do not participate in the system whatsoever, we only facilitate it. The system is very volatile in these early days which I suspect is caused by the market trying to get a handle on price discovery for something new and the rapid growth in the user base causing a “rising tide that lifts all boats.” Remember that Total Value (similar to Market Capitalization) is not reflective of funds in the system, it can fluctuate above and below due to the implied price caused by the most recent trading activity.

Question from Nation Member Hockplr10

I have heard that you have several advertising deals in place. I’m sure you are waiting to be able to handle the massive traffic it would generate, but is there any set time that these will hit the market? Also, wondering if you can be specific about where you will be advertsing?

We have prepared a number of marketing campaigns in order to acquire users but have held back due to the viral growth and performance of the system with the current user base/growth. Our marketing efforts will be focused online as we believe these are the most efficient and measureable conversion channels for our type of company.

FAQ from multiple Nation members:

What exactly has been the issues with traffic/latency, and what are the steps being taken to correct it, and ensure it won’t happen in the future?

We launched our site about 4 weeks ago. While testing is important and something we spent a lot of time/energy doing, it is impossible to replicate what live activity will be like in a test environment because you don’t know how users will use the system. Software application growth is very rarely as explosive as what we have experienced in these early days meaning there is usually a more steady curve to solve issue’s/problems. We are trying to manage these growing pains in a much more compressed time period. Our software looks more like banking software meaning it operates at a transactional level which is much different than a typical social network which would be easier to scale. We do not have a hardware issue as we have access to infinite hardware. Rather it is a matter of us getting smarter watching usage, discovering bottlenecks in the system architecture, breaking down the tasks and spreading them efficiently across the servers. We have made huge progress and will continue to do so.

send your questions for mike to oneseasonnation@gmail.com