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GoVenture World User Guide

Gameplay Details Continued

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World Map

GoVenture World is made up of countries that closely match the real world.
 

  • Every business must choose a location on the world map. The location of a Holding Company is considered its headquarters. Operating Businesses owned by a Holding Company can be located in different regions of the world.
     

  • Each country has its own income tax and duties set by the government. And, each country has its own cost of raw materials, general business costs, and consumer buying power
     

  • Consumer demographics and psychographics vary by country.
     

  • Manufacturing Businesses can sell products to Retail Businesses anywhere in the world. A Retail Businesses can only sell products to virtual consumers that are in the same country in which the Retail Business is located.
     

  • A Law Firm, Ad Agency, and Investment Bank can only serve other businesses in the same country in which it is located. However, if there are too few such companies in the same country to choose from, then the choice expands to neighboring countries within a certain physical distance. For example, if there are no Law Firms in a country to hire, a player may be allowed to hire a Law Firm in a neighboring country that is up to 1,000 km away (this distance is just an example, as the exact distance may vary).

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Loans

  • A loan is when a Holding Company borrows money from another Holding Company.
     

  • In return for loaning the money, the borrower repays the lender the principal of the loan plus interest over a specified period of time.
     

  • Players can loan each other money (through their Holding Companies) at any time and at any terms negotiated between them.
     

  • Investment Banks are in the business of loaning money. Players should consider requesting loans from Investment Banks prior to approaching other Holding Companies for loans.
     

  • If a loan is not repaid as scheduled and the borrower and lender cannot agree to new terms, a lawyer may need to be hired to mediate the dispute or file a lawsuit.
     

  • Loaning money is risky. If a borrower goes bankrupt, the lender may not be able to recover the loan principal and interest.

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Bonds

  • Holding Companies can issue bonds to raise money. Bonds are similar to loans, except instead of borrowing all the money from one business, the money is borrowed from any number of businesses buying the bonds.
     

  • Bonds have a Face Value of g1,000. This represents the principal amount of money to be borrowed when the bond is purchased by the bond holder and paid back by the issuer on the Maturity Date. All new bonds are issued at a price of g1,000. When issuing a bond, g1,000 times the number of units issued will determine the total amount of money that can be borrowed. For example, g1,000 x 50 units will raise up to g50,000.
     

  • Coupon Rate is the interest paid by the issuer to the bond holder once every year (GT). The Coupon Rate is set by the business issuing the bond. Coupon Interest is paid automatically when due (unless the bond issuer does not have enough cash).
     

  • Maturity Date is the date (GT) on which the Face Value will be paid by the issuer to the bond holder.
     

  • To issue a bond, the bond issuer (Holding Company) has to hire an Investment Bank to underwrite the bond. The Investment Bank will charge a fee for the service.
     

  • When a bond is issued and underwritten, it immediately gets posted on the Primary Bond Market. Any player can choose to purchase bonds from the Primary Bond Market. When a bond is purchased from the Primary Bond Market, the Face Value gets paid to the bond issuer, minus the Investment Bank fee.
     

  • There is no guarantee that a bond that is issued will actually be purchased by other players. Players will determine whether or not they wish to purchase a bond. For example, a Holding Company may issue 50 bonds at g1,000 each, but perhaps only 20 of the 50 bonds will actually be purchased. If this happens, the Holding Company will only receive 20 x g1,000 = g20,000 in proceeds from the sale. Some marketing may be required to create demand.
     

  • Players that purchase bonds and later wish to sell them can do so on the Secondary Bond Market. The GoVenture World Market Maker is always ready to buy any number of bonds you want to sell. The Market Maker buys bonds at the set BID price. The BID price changes based on the yield of the bond. The Market Maker will also sell bonds at the set ASK price, if bonds are available. The ASK price is always set a few percentage points higher than the BUY price. Money used to buy and sell bonds on the Secondary Bond Market transfers to the buyers and sellers, not the Holding Company or Investment Bank that issued the bond. 
     

  • The yield is the total cash value of the bond from the time in which it is posted for sale to the date of maturity. This includes the Face Value plus all the Coupon Interest that is expected to be paid (excludes any Coupon Interest that was already paid). Note that if a bond remains unsold on the Secondary Bond Market for a period of time, it is possible that its maximum price will be exceeded because one or more Coupon Interest payments may have been made, thereby reducing its yield. Players should always assess the current value of a bond before making a purchase.
     

  • Purchasing bonds is risky. If the bond issuer goes bankrupt, the lender may not be able to recover the bond face value and interest.
     

  • There may be bonds issued by GoVenture World that players can purchase and trade. These bonds are not related to a Holding Company. Instead, they are managed by GoVenture World administrators to help keep gameplay more active.

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Stocks

  • Holding Companies can issue stock (shares) to raise money. Unlike loans or bonds, stock represents a percentage of ownership in a company and is called equity financing.
     

  • All Holding Companies start with 1,000,000 shares priced at g1 per share for a total market capitalization (value) of g1,000,000.
     

  • A Holding Company is considered a private company until it offers its shares for sale, at which point it becomes publicly traded. 
     

  • A Holding Company will have its share price listed on the Stock Market once the player achieves a certain amount of bXP. Once this achievement is reached, the Holding Company can also issue new shares to raise money. When new shares are issued, other players can choose to buy, and later trade, those shares.
     

  • Shares are issued at a price set by the issuing Holding Company. When issuing stock, the number of shares issued will determine the total amount of money that can be raised. For example, if 50,000 shares are issued at g1 per share, up to g50,000 can be raised. Note that the share price set by an issuer has to be within a certain minimum and maximum value. This is done to prevent stock manipulation related to under or over valuing a stock. The selling price of the shares has to be plus or minus 25% of the Total Equity of the Holding Company issuing the stock (as shown on the Balance Sheet). This is calculated at the time of the new share issue. If a Holding Company has zero or negative Total Equity, the maximum and minimum price limits will be based upon a Total Equity of g100,000.
     

  • A player (Holding Company), on the same day RT, cannot purchase more than 10% of the total new shares issued by a Holding Company.  This excludes the founding shares. For example, if a Holding Company starts with 1,000,000 founding shares and then does two share issues of 1,000 and 2,000 new shares and also cancels 100 shares, the total shares issued is 1,002,900. A player can only purchase up to 10% (290) shares per day RT of this stock. This restriction is in place to prevent stock manipulation while also allowing more players the opportunity to purchase a stock.
     

  • No more than 50% of a Holding Company’s shares can be sold to other players. (This assures that the player that owns the Holding Company will always maintain control of the company.) For example, if a Holding Company, on startup, has 1,000,000 shares issued and outstanding, then it can issue and sell up to a maximum of 1,000,000 more shares, resulting in a total of 2,000,000 shares issued and outstanding.
     

  • Stock that is issued is full-voting class-A common shares. People that purchase stock become shareholders of the issuing Holding Company. Their ownership is calculated by dividing the number of shares owned by the total number of shares issued and outstanding by the Holding Company. For example, if a Holding Company has 1,000,000 shares and then issues 100,000 new shares for a total number of shares issued and outstanding at 1,100,000 and you buy all the new share issue, your ownership percentage will be 100,000 / 1,100,000 x 100% = 9%.
     

  • To issue stock, the stock issuer (Holding Company) has to choose a unique stock symbol (up to 4 alpha-numeric characters) and hire an Investment Bank to underwrite the stock issue. The Investment Bank will charge a fee for the service.
     

  • When a stock is issued and underwritten, it immediately gets posted on the Primary Stock Market. This is considered an Initial Public Offering (IPO). Any player can choose to purchase stocks from the Primary Stock Market. When a share is purchased from the Primary Stock Market, the share price gets paid to the stock issuer, minus the Investment Bank fee.
     

  • There is no guarantee that a stock that is issued will actually be purchased by other players. Players will determine whether or not they wish to purchase a stock. Some marketing may be required to create demand.
     

  • Players that purchase stock and later wish to sell the shares can do so on the Secondary Stock Market. The GoVenture World Market Maker is always ready to buy any number of shares you want to sell. The Market Maker buys shares at the set BID price. The BID price changes based on the Total Equity of the Holding Company (as shown on the Balance Sheet) that issued the stock. If a Holding Company has zero or negative Total Equity, the BID price is based on a Total Equity of g100,000. The Market Maker will also sell shares at the set ASK price, if shares are available. The ASK price is always set a few percentage points higher than the BUY price. Money used to buy and sell shares on the Secondary Stock Market transfers to the buyers and sellers, not the Holding Company or Investment Bank that issued the stock.
     

  • Stock is secured on the assets of a Holding Company. All creditors have equal standing with respect to creditor payouts on debt, but shareholders have secondary security after all debt is fully repaid.
     

  • Purchasing stock is risky. If the stock issuer goes bankrupt, the shareholder may not be able to recover the value of the stock.
     

  • There may be stocks issued by GoVenture World that players can purchase and trade. These stocks are not related to a Holding Company. Instead, they are managed by GoVenture World administrators to help keep gameplay more active.

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Investment Portfolio

  • Players, through their Holding Companies, can build their own investment portfolios by buying and selling stocks and bonds.
     

  • Stocks and bonds can be purchased from Primary or Secondary markets.
     

  • Stocks and bonds can be sold on Secondary markets (Primary markets are only for new issues).

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Lawsuits

  • In the normal course of doing business, players will have disagreements and miscommunication. And, in some cases, there may be activity, such as fraud, embezzlement, and other white-collar crimes that happen in the business world.
     

  • Players can attempt to settled disputes on their own, or they may hire a lawyer to help mediate the dispute. If mediation fails, the final recourse is to hire a lawyer to file a lawsuit.
     

  • Only lawyers can file and defend lawsuits.
     

  • Suits are settled by the GoVenture World Court. GoVenture World Court is comprised of judges who are GoVenture World administrators and other specially-appointed people.
     

  • Lawyers collect and prepare evidence to support their cases and then send this evidence to the GoVenture World Court at the same time the lawsuit is filed. Evidence can be collected from in-game messaging, communications, and witnesses. Lawyers do not have special access to any of this information and can only be granted access by other players who choose to manually share such information.
     

  • The GoVenture World Court will review the evidence presented and may request additional information from the parties. Once the GoVenture World Court has sufficient information to make a ruling (or has deemed that the lawyers have provided all the information they can or are willing to provide), a verdict will be declared.
     

  • Players must adhere to the Court's ruling within a reasonable period of time, or otherwise face additional lawsuits or direct action by the GoVenture World Court.
     

  • The GoVenture World Court only communicates with the lawyers in the case. It is the lawyers’ responsibility to keep their clients informed.
     

  • All lawsuits are public. Evidence is not posted for public view, but the litigants, charges, and verdict are made available in public records for all players in GoVenture World to view. Lawsuits can negatively impact the reputation of a business, so it is usually best to attempt mediation whenever possible in order to keep the conflict private.
     

  • To protect yourself from crime and have sufficient evidence in case of a lawsuit, it is best to use the in-game transaction systems when making deals, and to include descriptive notes with every transaction.
     

  • Players can sue other players for any reason whatsoever. However, frivolous lawsuits, which lack legal merit and have little chance of being won, should be avoided because it will cost both players money, and the player filing the lawsuit (the plaintiff) could be countersued by the defendant for legal fees, court costs, and abuse of process.
     

  • Important Note: While some virtual crimes are allowed to be perpetrated as part of the GoVenture World gameplay, activity that undermines the gameplay or violates the GoVenture World Terms of Use and related policies will not be tolerated.

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Government, Taxes and Duties

Each country in GoVenture World has its own government that sets taxes and duties. The location of your Holding Company headquarters determines which government policies apply to your business.
 

  • Income Tax is payable by a Holding Company to the government based on a percentage of profit in a given period (usually one year in GoVenture Time – GT).
     

  • Import Duties are taxes applied to goods being imported into a country. Duties are automatically collected by the government at the time the transaction is made.
     

  • If you are not happy with the rate of Import Duties, you can lobby government to change them. If enough players in a given country lobby government, a tipping point will be reached at which point the government will change the rate.
     

  • If you are a retail business importing products from other countries, low Import Duties will be beneficial for you. If you are a manufacturer, low import duties in countries to which you export could be beneficial, but higher Import Duties in your own country may also help you deter competition. Care should be taken when lobbying government to change Import Duties because players in other countries may try to do the same in order to counter the effect of such changes.

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Opening and Closing a Business

  • When you first join GoVenture World, you are provided enough money to open one new retail or manufacturing business.
     

  • To open additional businesses, you must have enough money to fund the startup costs of a new business or to purchase an existing business from another player. See Raising Money for ways to get new funds.
     

  • You may close an Operating Business at any time. Closing an Operating Business means shutting down the Operating Business without selling it or having it go bankrupt. You will continue to own the Operating Business.
     

  • While an Operating Business is closed, it will continue to incur some costs to maintain its property and assets.
     

  • A closed Operating Business cannot generate revenue. All product inventory will be discarded, so it is best to sell your inventory before closing.
     

  • Accounts Receivable, Accounts payable, and debts will still be associated with the Operating Business and the related Holding Company.
     

  • Your Operating Business will be labeled as closed and this will be recorded in your Holding Company history. You may reopen a closed Operating Business at any time for a fee.

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Bankruptcy and Line of Credit

  • Every Holding Company is provided a Line of Credit from the GoVenture World Bank. The Line of Credit is made available to give players time to raise money in order to avoid bankruptcy.
     

  • A Holding Company can draw down on the Line of Credit when it runs out of cash and owes money to GoVenture World.  A Holding Company cannot draw down on the Line of Credit to pay money owed to other Holding Companies or players.
     

  • A Holding Company owes money to GoVenture World for duties, taxes, operating expenses, brokerage fees, and other such costs and fees that are incurred while playing. When a Holding Company has no cash available to pay GoVenture World, money is automatically drawn down from the Line of Credit and paid to GoVenture World.  When the Holding Company has cash available, the money is automatically withdrawn and paid to GoVenture World Bank to cover the money owed on the Line of Credit.
     

  • The outstanding balance owing on a Line of Credit incurs interest at 30% per year, compounded monthly. This high interest rate is intended to motivate players to raise money using other options.
     

  • The transaction history and maximum amount of the Line of Credit can be seen under 
    FINANCE > INVOICES and LOANS
     

  • If you do not think you can overcome your risk of bankruptcy, you may RESET your account so that you can start the game over (Warning — all of your business history will be lost). The RESET option is available under MY PROFILE.
     

NOTE: Current gameplay has been changed so that a Holding Company will not be forced into bankruptcy and cannot file for bankruptcy. The Holding Company will continue to receive a Line of Credit to avoid bankruptcy. The five bullets below do not apply to current gameplay but remain in this User Guide in case of future changes.
 

  • If the maximum amount of the Line of Credit is reached and more money is owed to GoVenture World, the Holding Company will be forced into bankruptcy.
     

  • When a Holding Company runs out of money, it will go bankrupt. A player can declare bankruptcy at any time. Note that bankruptcy applies to the Holding Company and all businesses and assets it owns.
     

  • To declare bankruptcy, a Law Firm must be hired as a trustee to handle the bankruptcy filing, liquidation of assets, and distribution of funds to creditors. The trustee takes over the Holding Company and liquidates it. Funds are distributed to creditors based on their priority. Unless there is some other legal arrangement in effect, payment priority is as follows: trustee legal fees, vendors, debt holders, shareholders.
     

  • A bankruptcy is recorded in your public history forever. While some people may consider a bankruptcy a failure, others may consider it a valuable learning experience that they can now apply towards making their next venture successful.
     

  • Upon declaring bankruptcy, you will be provided enough cash to start a new Holding Company.

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Raising Money

Raising money gives you the ability to do many interesting activities. There are several ways to raise money:

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  • Generate profit from business operations
     

  • Secure a loan from another player or an Investment Bank
     

  • Issue a bond
     

  • Issue stock
     

  • Generate capital gains (profit) through the sale of third party stocks and bonds
     

  • Sell a business
     

  • Buy g money from the GoVenture World Marketplace

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Player Advisors

Your Avatar

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  • Each player has an Avatar — a character that represents you.
     

  • Your Avatar can be hired by Manufacturing or Retail businesses to act as an Advisor. You earn g money for your services. Note that these services are virtual, you do not have to actually do anything. You cannot hire your own Avatar.
     

  • Your Avatar name is the name of your Holding Company.
     

  • You design your own Avatar and can change the design at any time.

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Your Skills

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  • Your Avatar has three skills that contribute to the success of the Manufacturing or Retail business that hires you (your client):
     

    • Efficiency
      Saves your client a percentage of money spent on Efficiency Upgrades and Operating Costs.
       

    • Retail Sales
      Saves your client a percentage of money spent on Personnel and Signage. Applies to clients that are Retail businesses.
       

    • Manufacturing
      Saves your client a percentage of the Per Unit Cost. Applies to clients that are Manufacturing businesses and savings also apply to Stations and Addons.
       

  • Each of the three skills ranges from 0 to 100%, representing the level of your skill and the percentage of savings provided to your client.
     

  • Skills do not diminish over time.
     

  • Your skills are set based on your past history and recent activity. You earn Skill Points and can assign the Skill Points to increase each of the three skills that you choose. Once you assign Skill Points, they cannot be changed — you have to wait until you earn more Skill Points to assign. 
     

  • You earn Skill Points as follows:
     

    • You start with a number of Skill Points based on your Lifetime bXP (minus current bXP). Lifetime bXP is you total bXP earned since you first created your GoVenture World account and persists through resets.
       

    • You earn Skill Points based on your current bXP as it grows over time.
       

    • You earn Skill Points by playing a minigame once each day RT.

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Client Engagements

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  • Your Avatar can be hired (engaged) to act as an Advisor by one client at a time. The duration of the engagement will end automatically after a fixed period of time (7 days RT). A client can fire an Advisor and an Advisor can quit at any time — there is no penalty. Once the engagement ends, your Avatar can be hired by another client. A client cannot hire the same Advisor immediately after an engagement ends. The Advisor must be hired by a different client before the same client can hire them again in the future. 
     

  • Your client pays you a fee that is calculated as a percentage of savings achieved by your client. You set the percentage from a range of 20% to 50%. The higher your skills, the greater the potential savings for your client, and the higher the percentage of savings that clients may be willing to pay you.
     

  • You may change your fee at any time, but the change will not go into effect until your next client engagement. If you change your fee while already engaged with a client, the fee will remain the same for that client until the engagement ends. 
     

  • If your skills increase while you are engaged by a client, the benefits will not go into effect until your next client engagement. 
     

  • If a client becomes inactive, the service engagement and daily fee will continue to its natural end.
     

  • If an Advisor becomes dormant, they cannot be hired until they are active.
     

  • Players can earn an Achievement badge for being hired as Advisors.

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world-map
Loans
bonds
stocks
investment-portfolio
lawsuits
govt-taxes-duties
opening-closing-business
bankruptcy
raising-money
player-advisors
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