hobbyDB is raising at an $11 million valuation cap with no discount. The price per share is $.67. This valuation is rather high considering the development stage that hobbyDB is in. Thus, its price score is low.

hobbyDB operates in the global collectibles market, which is an estimated $370 million market. It may not have any direct competition (that’s to say, there may not be any other companies out there that specifically are dedicated to collectibles), but hobbyDB must show that it’s able to oust eBay and Facebook (or even Craigslist) in the field of consumer marketplace in order to occupy a percentage of this market. Due to the small market value and the well-established competitors hobbyDB faces, the market for the company is its lowest across all five metrics.

The executive team at hobbyDB is an impressive bunch. The company is led by founder and CEO Christian Braun. Braun has an extensive background with collectables, entirely financing his MBA by buying and selling collectibles. He also has history running similar businesses to hobbyDB, as he ran the world’s largest forum for collectors — showing his ability to build community (which will be very important, if hobbyDB is to be successful).

Braun is joined by Alexandra Lindsay, who built a large ancestry community which was then acquired by one of the major genealogy websites, and David Parker, who works on the software development side and has done so for 18 years.

The team, spearheaded by Christian Braun, has prior experience in the field of collecting, as well as experience in selling startups to larger companies. The executive team is one of the strongest assets that hobbyDB has. However, because Braun himself is not the individual with the successful past exit, hobbyDB’s team score is middle of the road.

hobbyDB is a unique company that does not face much direct competition currently. If the company can grow their database of collectibles to the level it aims for (100 million individual collectibles by 2025), there will be nothing else like it on the market.

 From a buying and selling standpoint, one of the biggest worries for buyers is the potential to be scammed. hobbyDB offers complete scam protection, holding the money in escrow until the buyer has confirmed that the item they bought isn’t faked or inauthentic. Once the buyer has confirmed, the money is then paid out to the seller. 

This system makes scamming nigh impossible, and since no money is paid out if a report of fraud comes in, scammers are disincentivized from remaining on the platform. This allows customers to feel completely comfortable buying and selling goods, knowing that hobbyDB ensures that no payment ever goes to those who sell things fraudulently.

While hobbyDB does offer advantages over current options — such as eBay or Facebook Market — its strong suits could be easily replicated by another company. As a result, hobbyDB’s differentiators score is above average, but not particularly high.

hobbyDB has raised $4 million from various investors, most notably television producer Adam Goldberg and capital market company Techstars. hobbyDB has partnerships with companies like Funko and Hard Rock International which account for profitable aspects of the business.

At present, hobbyDB has $123,000 of cash on hand. The average operational expenses on a monthly basis run up to $45,600. With a monthly revenue of $42,300, hobbyDB will be able to continue their operation for a long time. Due to strong early partnerships and encouraging early revenue, hobbyDB’s performance is its highest across all five metrics. 

One of hobbyDB’s biggest issues going forward will be building the database that they hope to create — 100 million items catalogued by 2025. Since the company relies on volunteers (much like Wikipedia) to create this database, there is no guarantee that enough people volunteer up their own time to get hobbyDB even close to its goals.

If the database never manifests fully, hobbyDB will then be competing with the likes of eBay and Facebook Marketplace as consumer selling platforms. It’s unlikely that collectors and the general public will abandon the name recognition of those two giants for a relatively unknown commodity like hobbyDB. On top of that, just one failure in its scam protection plan could cause customers to lose trust – a major threat to the platform’s success. 

Then, of course, there is the issue of profitability. hobbyDB has operated at a net loss for the entirety of its existence. Though that’s not uncommon for startups investors should consider that the business is still in the early phases of development. There is certainly no guarantee the business turns profitable anytime soon.

The market of collectibles buyers and sellers is vast. If hobbyDB creates the definitive database for all different types of collectibles, it would attract collectors from around the world. Its existing partnerships and capital raised show that some companies and investors see the value in this product. If hobbyDB can continue to grow these partnerships and leverage these investors, it will be able to grow and scale much faster.

hobbyDB is attempting to create the definitive database that would make collecting a breeze. Its executive leadership and existing partnerships are two aspects of the company that show the potential for upside.

However, hobbyDB’s Wikipedia-like growth strategy leaves many questions about how likely it is to succeed. Even if the company succeeds in cataloguing millions of items, it will still take years to get to that point. The company hasn’t been profitable at any point in its existence, and since its growth strategy is so slow, there’s no reason to assume that hobbyDB will turn a profit any time soon. Due to all these factors, hobbyDB is a Neutral Deal. 

For questions regarding the KingsCrowd staff pick or ratings for this company, please reach out to [email protected].

Analysis written by Ethan Thomas.