Sorry, Marc I may have overstepped. I just re-read your posting again for more clarity.
I originally took it to mean that they had dumped and not delivered.
But following the links I can see that the reality is this was angel funding and they were trying to protect the purchasing power of what they had.
Besides being a Systems Architect that specializes in blockchain tech, I'm also a hired gun coder and make myself available for this kind of work pretty regularly as a way to supplement my income.
Unfortunately, I see so many of these projects launch with massive investment and then disappear into the void when what they're doing is rather trivial from a technical perspective.
Next time I'll dig deeper before responding. It is too bad they dumped that much NXT but it is also impressive that the market rebounded like it did.
No worries, I surely hope this app continues to grow the way it did, it's a long shot but if it works out the reward will be big.
Not to scare ya here, but I don't see any way for them to monetize this short of ads or selling user info.
Imagine if you could hire immediate private security from the surrounding populace though.
Think Uber for semi-professional security.
You're a young lady who's been clubbing half the night and some jerk who bought you a drink 4 hrs ago, is now stalking you.
You don't want to deal with the cops, perhaps because the guy hasn't actually committed any crime other than just being a creep.
You press a button and minutes later, two guys pull up in an Escalade and umm "have a talk" with the guy.
You could build this by mixing google maps, location api, NXT currency & messaging.
Monetize it by charging a fixed "per dispatch fee" and a premium based on urgency.
The "help" could then see local calls for help that are 10mins or less from where they're at, accept the job and go resolve the problem.
Payment would complete when the users tap their phones together or something.
We could call it "Dial a Thug!"