Slingshot Effect Have Ceased to Trade
The team at Float has it’s share of zombie fans and RPG aficionados. And so it was with sadness that one of us received an email over the weekend from Slingshot Effect (creator of the zombie RPG, 2.8 Hours later www.slingshoteffect.co.uk) explaining that they have put the company into liquidation.
In a statement (which can be read in full here) they cite cash flow as being the coup de grace for a business that was also struggling with profit margins and sales.
It’s a sobering read. But one that perhaps tells an all-too-familiar story of a business fuelled by real passion that ultimately goes under due to inexperienced financial management.
A close reading of Slingshot’s statement suggests that they had experienced more than one cash crunch of late. On one level there’s the obvious effect of such a cash gap: not being able to pay bills. But another way to read cash forecasts is as a barometer for the health of a business.
In other words, if it’s clear a business is struggling with cash, in addition to trying to solve the short-term challenge, a deeper investigation into the underlying causes of that shortage is also warranted.
In many ways, what we are trying to do at Float is to help business owners shine a light on some of these problems before they become problems. Because if we can help do that then perhaps more passion-powered companies will be able to navigate tricky business terrain.
