fool hearty investment

A FOOL HARDY INVESTMENT [MY OPINION]

I saw the following article on the SBG web site that I receive daily. The information alluded to in the article about SolarCore insulation is as mythical in its ability to insulate as goretex is able to breathe. The incredible amount of money invested in the Oros company based upon their theoretical insulation SolarCore will prove again in my opinion to be a losing proposition.

Oros announced $14.5 million in a Series A funding round led by Elizabeth Street Ventures and Enlightenment Capital. Also participating in the financing are entrepreneur Thomas Tull, the chairman of Snap Inc., Michael Lynton, and Brandon Shainfeld, among others.

I obviously do not know what these venture capitalists were shown and told, wait to the end, but I do know not a one of them has any knowledge of what it takes to make an insulation. Just because they have been otherwise financially successful does not mean they have the knowledge necessary to make an investment in an insulation material when they have no knowledge of insulation.

Oros, a materials technology and performance apparel brand created its patented SolarCore insulation in 2015 designed to transform advanced thermal materials into technical fabrics. Oros aims to create streamlined silhouettes that provide warmth in below-freezing temperatures.

Oros has been utilizing Aerogel for at least the past 4 years in jackets in sections of the jackets. That changed when as I read on their web site, they took these tiny pieces of Aerogel and impregnated them into foam.

The foam as far as I can see on their web site is a very strong soft product. That is necessary so it will not break apart when being worn. This is not an advanced form of insulation and it has no ability to actually keep anybody warm when they are in below freezing temperatures. Their statement is an absolute lie.

Oros is working on a new, lightweight insulated material in 2022. The material, which will debut in an upcoming performance apparel collection, incorporates a suite of patents and exclusive rights to underlying NASA IP. The capital raised will it to refine the material, create new apparel products and invest in its new manufacturing facility outside Boston. The facility will allow Oros to convert recycled fiber into thermal performance fiber through 3D engineered knitting. The domestic manufacturing line will also enable its to customize machinery, equipment and engineering processes while consolidating the supply chain to sustainably scale production.

Oros is working on nothing. How can they create a new light weight insulating material when what they have is just that, make the foam thinner? But as we read further, they are working on using recycled fiber which is polyester even though it is not mentioned. So, they are going to somehow 3d engineer it via knitting. So, these venture capitalists are going to pore money into machinery that will make this product, maybe these venture capitalists should do research into primaloft so they can learn why their product[s] have failed. And then they should research CLIMASHIELD to find out why it is successful and the finest insulating material on planet earth.

“Since day one, Oros has endeavored to transform insulated apparel, using only the best materials and technologies – some of which have been developed with exclusive access to NASA IP and have been used for their most demanding applications in space,” said Jeff Nash, Chief Technology Officer and VP of product, Oros.

They keep throwing out the NASA name, and I have no idea where they actually use the Aerogel but I am sure it is not in space suits. Oros may have endeavored to transform insulated apparel using the Aerogel but they have successfully failed; did you note that venture capitalists.

In addition to the Series A round, Oros also announced Rachael Ulman’s appointment to its Board of Directors. Ulman, who has spent 20-plus years in digital retail, is a venture partner at Elizabeth Street Ventures and the founder and CEO of 27 Edge.

Interesting that Rachel has sold digits, are they like widgets?

Industry veteran Hap Klopp will serve as a Board observer. Klopp acquired The North Face in 1968 and turned it into a global apparel business that he ran for 20 years.

Yes, Hap owned The North Face for 20 years during which time it went through 2 bankruptcies’, the second one ended when VF Corporation bought them and they made the company a global apparel business as it is today.

This article speaks about insulation not about the garments that the Oros company makes or will makes or will make in the future. It talks about investors putting money into a business that will make a polyester fiber insulating medium potentially in a way that I am not familiar with but, all the same it is in this planning stage already an obsolete product. It does not make any difference to me if they somehow add the Aerogel to the mix. Chopped staple fiber when used for batting purposes, i.e., insulation is not going to give any different result than all the machinations that primaloft has presented to the marketplace and the same goes for every other company in the world who offers a chopped staple fiberfill product.

IF, these investors did their do diligence [which they didn’t] they would know they have been sold on investing in a bright white elephant. IF, they did their do diligence and researched what is available in the marketplace that actually, truly performs as an insulation they would have discovered Climashield and its companion product Lamilite.

Each of these products have shown over the course of 50 years that there is nothing even close.

But I think the mystery as to why these investors are into this product has to do with the military. The military development facility is located in Natick, Mass. about 30 miles from Boston where they are building their factory, it is not a coincidence. To invest $14,500,000.00 in an upstart is more than a small investment and of course the return on investment would have to be significant.

In the late 1980’s Natick invested via an award process $700,000.00 with primaloft and Albany International who made the primaloft tried like hell to get it into the military and after all was said and done it failed to get into sleeping bags and eventually failed in outerwear. It is my belief that after this company gets going, they too will fail to get into the military, why because chopped staple fiber is obsolete versus continuous filament; CLIMASHIELD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The end result is as Albert Einstein said, “doing the same-thing over and over and expecting a different result is insanity”. Trying to make a new named chopped staple fiber fill product is what they are doing.

Imagine losing $14,500,000.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!