Colorado vNet ‘Cautiously Optimistic’, Launches ‘Bring vNet Back’ Campaign

Since Colorado vNet shut down on Tuesday, "my phone has not stopped ringing with integrators, partners, industry insiders and even competitors calling to ask if they can invest in bringing vNet back into business," says VP sales Mike Malone in an email to dealers.

Malone says the Loveland, Colo.-based company -- which makes lighting controls, multiroom audio systems, home automation systems and media servers -- has received "several commitments to invest in the recovery of the business," and that vNet could have a resolution by the end of the month.

Colorado vNet is soliciting new investors. And for those who lack the resources, the company suggests, "You can invest in getting us restarted by sending an email of encouragement or commitment to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)."

Since Tuesday, vNet has indicated that the company would respond to requests for (paid) technical support, but dealers say their phone calls have not been returned.

Malone says in his email that its technical support program will begin on Monday, Sept. 28.

The fee is $125/hour with a minimum of 30 minutes.

vNet dealers have rallied at cepro.com, with many kudos for the company and offers of support.

Join the Colorado vNet Dealer Support thread in the CE Pro forums

Below is most of Malone's email to dealers, with details on ordering and tech support omitted:

I wanted to send a note to all our integrators and field sales people to let them know what’s going on at Colorado vNet since we announce our intention to ramp things down on Tuesday.

First of all we want to offer our sincere apologies for having to interrupt our business, but I can say that the circumstances left us without options. We do not want to leave our dealers completely high and dry, so we have a process in place to manufacture and ship product to meet your immediate and potentially final needs. The shipping of prepaid product will resume on Monday….[details]

Second we know that we need a prepay process for technical support. This program will be up and running on Monday….[details]

Even though the circumstances are difficult, we are trying to put support in place to help everyone get through the interrupted service.

I have been the VP of sales and support at vNet for the last three years. We have an excellent team assembled and we have had a pretty good run at delivering value to our integrators as many of the comments on CePro have indicated (BTW thank you for your kind remarks and suggestions).

Now lets talk about the future.

Since our announcement Tuesday, my phone has not stopped ringing with integrators, partners, industry insiders and even competitors calling to ask if they can invest in bringing vNet back into business. Their commentary about how we do things differently and deliver value to their business is incredible to hear. It is in difficult times like these that you really find out what people think of you and your support and offers to invest in the company make me feel pretty good about what our team has delivered.

As requests to invest in the company have come to us, we have shared our business plan and financial details with those interested parties. I am happy to report we have received several commitments to invest in the recovery of the business. I believe we are on the way to fulfilling our investment requirements. I can say that based upon the quality of the people stepping forward, I am cautiously optimistic that we could have a resolution to this process by the end of the month.

If the investment process is successful, we hope to re-open as soon as possible, perhaps by the first of the month. As with any financial transaction it may take longer, but that is our goal.

I appreciate your encouraging support but what I’d also like is your help re-starting this business:

If you or someone you know is interested in investing in an incredible company with talent, value and an excellent potential for financial return have them contact me. We are actively seeking out investors to fill out the rest of the investment pool; I can be reached at 970-203-3710 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

I realize that our future is not certain and probably won’t be till next month, but it would help us to show our pool of investors that our dealers are still are behind us by giving them a glimpse of your support. So if you want to see us succeed, but are not in a position to invest in the company financially, then you can invest in getting us restarted by sending an email of encouragement or commitment to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) .

Thanks for the kind words and supportive comments over the last 36 hours; it has been an incredibly tough time for our team. But in reality it’s not about the impact on us, it’s about the impact on our partners. It’s about how can we get this business back on track so that all of us can satisfy our clients, make some money and build a secure future for those we care about.

I invite you help us be successful, so we can contribute to your success and profitably in the future.

Mike Malone
Vice President of Sales
Colorado vNet