October 27 AMA session with PlanetWatch CEO

In this article you will find the answers that our CEO, Claudio Parrinello, gave in the AMA session on October 27.

Before answering your questions, let me start with some announcements.

Our new App will be uploaded to the stores most likely tonight, at the latest by the end of the week. As expected, it will include onboarding for Kaiterra and AWAIR Element sensors.

What happens next? It will take a few days for publication as per Android/IoS policies. All in all, given that November 1st is a holiday in this part of the world, I think it is safe to assume that the App and sensors would be operational as of November 2nd, unless iOS takes a bit more time because of Apple policies. I guess nobody wants a spooky Halloween App! We are doing our best to publish a perfect App, but there may be bugs so please help us find then after the release. An App with many functionalities and talking to the blockchain is not an easy one to deliver, so I trust you will be collaborative and help us make it perfect.

All the sensors purchased until today, by people who received the emails and replied, will be shipped by the end of the week, barring last-minute issues with delivery services. In fact, all Airqinos which have been sold, have already been shipped: there are a few remaining Kaiterras which are getting shipped as we speak. 

Once again, please bear in mind that we are taking a big risk in reselling third-party sensors, because these days global trade and logistics are a big mess. So please be patient and bear in mind that it would be easier and more profitable for us to only sell licenses, but we feel it would not be beneficial to the project.

For the sake of clarity – you are free to buy approved sensors where you want, and in some cases this could be faster than buying them from us. But then, it is up to you to check equipment integrity, warranties and value for money. If you join the waiting list and buy from the US, it might take longer but you will have clear information about prices, you get a brand new device, etc. As promised, delivery times in terms of quarters, and other status updates will be visible on the Explorer.

To help us speed up the order processing, please make sure you always send the exact amount for your payment. If you send a wrong or rounded amount, this triggers difficulties and delays. Delivering an eCommerce experience with token payments is a tricky business!

As of today, KYC (which means essentially Identity Verification) will be enforced for all PlanetWatch users, including current ones. This might be a bit annoying, but it helps protect the network. KYC will be a bit more stringent for those wishing to buy more than 5 licenses so yes, we will now be able to process such requests. You will soon get an email asking you to go through the process.

The Emirex exchange told us that they are unable to list PLANETS by the end of October as promised. They are telling us now that mid-November should work. I am not happy about this, but things do happen beyond our control.
Following the listing on Bitmart and the activation of a DeFi platform on Algorand, as of November 8, ALL payments for our products and services will be in PLANETS, including for non-European users on the planetwatch.us website. 

Here you can find PlanetWatchers’ questions to Claudio

When is the Treedom staking going live?

Hopefully before the end of the year, but this is a very busy year, so we will do our best to deliver what we announced.

Is the PW team big and experienced enough to run the actual managerial activities, like social media management, customer support etc?

The team is growing fast, but this is a great time to disclose that we are recruiting. In particular, we are looking for a Marketing and Communications manager. Please, apply via our ticketing system selecting the “Job Application” option in the dropdown menu.

You and the team are doing a great job. Please, continue to be transparent and do not let others upset you in any way.

Thank you. Since I like nice comments, I will drop a spoiler: you will get one or perhaps two major announcements from PlanetWatch before the end of November!

Are there more plans for collaboration between different hotels and PlanetWatch? Or more cities monitoring collaboration?

Yes, there is a lot going on in the background, but I prefer telling things when they are done.

Name one thing that you are very proud of in the PW team, and one thing that you think you can improve as a company?

The company was founded in January 2020, right at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. We built from the start a very committed and competent team in spite of tough COVID-19 restrictions in Europe. So I had to hire staff and raise funds without meeting people in person. 

Just 4 months after company creation we had an MVP running on the Algorand Testnet, in August 2020 we went live on the Mainnet and now, less than 2 years after foundation, we have over 6,000 live sensors worldwide (which could be two or three times as much if more hardware was available), we have posted over 100 million transactions on the Algorand blockchain, we have paying corporate customers and a number of exciting projects in the making.

As for what we need to improve, since our growth has been very fast, we probably need to improve on… everything! Seriously, the key word is “consolidate”. We must first consolidate our internal processes, then our IT infrastructure and our staff, in particular for customer service and communications. We also want to consolidate data security in view of monetisation. As I already anticipated, we are working on this. 

What makes PlanetWatch unique and will defeat other competitors companies?

Our unique mix of technical and environmental know-how (blockchain, IoT, Big Data analysis, air quality, RESET-certified professionals), a unique business model with direct community involvement to make cities smart by deploying thousands of sensors on demand, fast and cheap, strong academic and corporate partnerships (CERN, etc.)

Is there a place to check how many Planets are in each recycling bin?

Not yet, but it is on the technical roadmap.

Will PlanetWatch provide end of year statements pertaining to paid out tokens for USA customers for tax related information?

You can already download it from the Explorer after you log in, by clicking on the button “Export Planets CSV”.

Over the last six months how many staff have been onboarded to support the growth seen in this project? What do you think growth looks like over the next 6 to 12 months?

The answer to the first one – about 15 people were hired in the last few months. We have a lot of traction in terms of community engagement and corporate partnership requests. If we manage to make a big step forward in terms of hardware availability, I believe we can become very visible worldwide by achieving a critical mass in a number of important cities.

Keep watching our Planet and stay tuned for more announcements coming soon!