It's Tough to be a Small Public Company
by Scott Krisiloff, Avondale Asset Management
Each week we read dozens of transcripts from earnings calls and presentations as part of our investment process. Below is a weekly post which typically contains some of the most important quotes about the economy and industry trends from those transcripts. Â Click here to receive these posts weekly via email.
This Weekâs Post: A View of the World From Microcap Companies
This weekâs post is a little different from usual because we spent this week at the LD Micro conference in Los Angeles. LD Micro is an bi-annual conference that is put together by Chris Lahiji and his team. He brings together a couple hundred companies with average market caps around $50m. Â They do a great job.
Although we usually focus on larger companies, the LD Micro conference is always an enlightening few days. I think there is a general perception that if youâre a microcap company youâve done something wrong, but there are still some very interesting stories and high quality management teams here each year. For instance, this week I met with a former CEO of Anadarko and a former Senior Manager from Abbot Labs. Each was running a company with a market cap lower than $30m.
There are certainly snake oil salesmen in the mix, but there are also people running these companies who have been extremely successful. The CEOs are often unpolished, but they are also scrappy, practical and often survivors. Many are multi-multi millionaires who have built their fortunes by traveling a road that was off the beaten track and hustling. Sometimes I get the sense that some of these CEOs are among the most gifted pure-businessmen that I encounter.
That said, I want to make it very clear that we are in no way shape or form recommending an investment in any of the companies that are mentioned below. We took most of these meetings at random and make no representations as to the quality of any of these companies in particular.
With that disclaimer out of the way, this week we take a peak inside Microcap land. Itâs quite a trip.
The Macro Outlook: What is it like to be a Microcap company?
Itâs tough to be a microcap company today
âBeing a microcap is tough. Thereâs a perception that being OTC is not where up and coming companies are.â âGreg Cash, CEO BioSig (Medical Device)
Companies have to contend with a deeply ingrained stigma
âI think that bulletin board stocks are unfairly maligned. The accounting requirements are exactly the sameâ âHarold Montgomery, CEO Calpian (Payment Processing in India)
There arenât a lot of investors interested in companies this size
â$2-10 million is a tough nut to crack. Itâs a tough amount of money to raise. There arenât a lot of investors looking to write that size check. Youâre too big for private investors and too small for most institutions. Itâs no manâs landâ âMichael Oliver, CEO SpectraScience (Medical Device)
A lot of management teams voiced frustration with how government regulation has made it more difficult for microcaps
âOver-regulation has destroyed the microcap market. Theyâve put all the small brokers out of business. They say itâs to protect the small investor, but then look what they allow, crowdfunding? Give me a break. Itâs laughable, but itâs not funny.â âHarvey Bibicoff, Investor BG Staffing (Staffing Company)
Others recognized that this is just a part of life
âRegulations are a barrier to competition and they are a bigger barrier to smaller competition. But itâs like fish swim in the water. Itâs part of who you are so you deal with it.â Michael Oliver, CEO SpectraScience (Medical Device)
So the question is, why be a public company at this size?
This is definitely the harder way to go, but many see it as the right thing to do to protect shareholder value
âThereâs no doubt that this is the harder way to go, but itâs whatâs right for the company, patients and shareholdersâ âGreg Cash, CEO BioSig (Medical Device)
âMaybe if I were 30 years old and needed the money to support my family I would raise money from a VC. I can see that. But if you want to do whatâs right for the company and employees, and youâre comfortable in your personal finances, then this is the way to do it.â âAndy Khanna, CEO Sonasoft (Email Archiving)
Most said that VC and PE funds want to take too much control over the company
âI knew this was going to be a multi year effort and we would have lost control if we had been funded by a VC. In order to have the time necessary and keep the founders in control, being a public company was the best option.â âBill Caragol, CEO PositiveID Corporation (Biotech)
âIâve worked with Private Equity partners in the past, we know them well, but ultimately it came down to the fact that they just want to take too much of the company.â âJohn Seitz, CEO GulfSlope Energy (Oil Exploration and Production)
International:
Sam Wu, CFO of a US listed Chinese company, told me that the reason so many Chinese companies are listed in the US is that it gives them credibility at home
âbeing publicly listed in the United States creates credibility at home in China. The government trusts us more because we are a US listed company. It shows that we have strong financial backing and can finish a job with qualityâ âSam Wu, CFO Yu Long Eco-Materials (Chinese Construction Materials Company)
Financials:
Richard Prati is a former investment banker. Â He is now CEO of a medical device company. He talked about the differences between his old job and his new one.
âWall Street has changed a lot, regulation has changed it. Itâs not as entrepreneurial as it used to be. Itâs not as fun. People are just focused on keeping their jobs, not trying to figure out how to build a companyâŠin this, I get to wake up every morning asking how do I make the patient and customerâs life betterâ âRichard Prati, CEO Life Care Medical Devices (Private Medical Device co)
Gene Cartwright was a top manager at Abbott Labs and then GE. He moved to a struggling Microcap because he saw an opportunity. He shared some lessons that heâs learned about managing the finances of a microcap company.
âNever do a floating deal. Youâre better off giving up something significant early on for a fixed price. And cut your burn rateâeven further than you think you can. Youâll always be ok.â âGene Cartwright, CEO Guided Therapeutics (Medical Diagnostics)
Domenic Penna worked for Diageo and then then moved to Teva Pharmaceuticals before ending up at a small Pharmaceutical company in Canada. He talked about the importance of analytical thinking.
âThe difference between being a good accountant and a good analyst is that an analyst can see a story through the data. I always say, donât give me data, give me information. Unless you can bridge the gap, youâll be stuck as an accountant.â âDomenic Penna, CFO IntelliPharmaceutics (Pharmaceutical)
Consumer:
Leonard Mazur was responsible for a number of big consumer brands at Cooper in the 1980s. He helped build Oral B from $1m in sales to the largest toothbrush brand in the US. He shared his insights on marketing.
âItâs critical when youâre in a very competitive market, you have to be unique, you have to do something that makes people remember you. Youâve got to do something that gives you recognition and do it in a way thatâs never been done before.â âLeonard Mazur, President Citius Pharma (Phamaceuticals)
Technology:
Peter Bloch is an âEric Schmidtâ figure to two bright young mechanical engineers in Toronto who are building a mechanical exoskeleton to help paraplegics walk again. He talked about the potential for robotics in Medicine.
âI believe that these products havenât even begun to realize their potential in the marketâŠengineering is important, but penetration is going to come from strong dataâ âPeter Bloch, CEO Bionik Labs (Medical Robotics)
Andy Khanna brings an old school mentality to a cloud based software company. Â He talked about how they optimize the value of their engineering budget by hiring software engineers overseas
âWe hire software engineers overseas, because you canât find a software engineer in the US for less than $150k and you canât afford that unless youâre financed by a VC. And then what ends up happening is management ends up owning 1% of the stock. From a quality standpoint we find that coding/testing is actually better overseas than here. What is lacking are design capabilities, so we do design here and then take it to where the skill-set is available.â âAndy Khanna, CEO SonaSoft (Email Archiving)
Healthcare:
There are a LOT of med-tech companies in the microcap space
Daron Evans and Jeff Baxter are two business focused CEOs with long term industry experience. Both stressed looking for base-hits rather than home runs as a med-tech investor.
âWhen youâre looking at a small company in the healthcare space, focus on whether you have a clear line of sight to a cash flow generating company. Focus on evolution, not revolution.â âDaron Evans, CEO Nephros (Medical Device)
âFocusing on unmet clinical needs, thatâs BS, thatâs not for small and mid-cap companies. You need to be pushing against an open door.â âJeff Baxter, CEO VBI Vaccines (Biotech)
Doug Janzen also stressed going after base hits, but provided some pointers for investors who feel compelled to search for home runs
âFocus on products, things that you can touch. A scientist with an enzyme, thatâs a concept, not a product. If youâre going to invest in biotech, look for products that have a huge benefit, not just some incremental improvement. Also, if someoneâs in a sexy area of science, things will tend to roll down hillâ âDoug Janzen, Co-Founder Aequus Pharmaceuticals (Pharmaceuticals)
Biotech companies have extremely long development cycles with uncertain outcomes. I asked Emanuel Bjorne for insight on what itâs like day-to-day to devote oneâs life to a dream
âIf youâre in clinical development, the work can be exciting every day. If youâre in pre-clinical development, it can be a bit like fighting a desert warâ âEmanuel Bjorne, Corporate Development Director Hansa Medical (Biotech)
If you want to succeed as a biotech startup you have to be extremely disciplined about controlling expenses
âThe key to success in biotech is to get really bright people together and make sure they have moderate, but not excessive resources. Biotech has to be lean, mean and rigorously focused. You have to bring scientific expertise together with good business expertise. Scientists will figure out a way to spend money if you let them.â âJeff Baxter, CEO VBI Vaccines (Biotech)
Ultimately, everything comes down to the phase III trial
âThe last trial is Phase III, this is to be or not to be. You know Hamlet? Itâs like that.â âRob Babecoff, CEO BiondVax (Biotech)
These management teams have everything riding on a highly uncertain outcome
âWe have all our chips on the table. Weâre all in.â âJerome Jabbour, Chief Business Officer Matinas Biopharma (Biotech)
Not everyone is going to make it
âThere is going to be some failure, there has to be some failure. Thatâs the history of science.â âAlbert Scardino, Chairman ImmunoVaccine (Biotech)
Materials, Industrials, Energy:
John Seitz, who is the former CEO of Anadarko, shared his secret to success in oil exploration. The key is good people.
âThe formula for success in oil exploration isnât terribly complicated: Pick a basin where oil has been found, acquire all the data (seismic and well), put a highly experienced team to work on it and give them the time and support they need. In other words, get out of the way and it just works.â âJohn Seitz, CEO GulfSlope Energy (Oil Exploration and Production)
One CEO I spoke to talked about how the US should think more about the importance of manufacturing
âPeople are very interested in software today, but as my old boss used to say, itâs not a real business unless you ship things out the back door. I think it would serve the US well to think about that more often.â âTom Steipp, CEO Liquidmetal Technologies (Injection molded metal)
Miscellaneous Nuggets of Wisdom:
Ironcladâs CEO sells a lot of gloves to oil and gas industry workers. Â He reminded me that the strongest relationships can be built when customers are hurting.
âAt this point in the cycle, thatâs the time when you make friendsâ âJeff Cordes, CEO Ironclad Performance Wear (Work Gloves)
Antonio Tremenino is a passionate Nicaraguan-born businessman. He shared insights on investing and on life.
âIn moments of crisis and moments of success you need two things: stay healthy and stay focusedâ âAntonio Tremenino, Co-Founder ROI Land Investments (Land Development)
A. Paul Gill went from a government worker to mining tycoon when he made a 9000% return buying a discarded copper mine from Rio Tinto in the late 90s. He had some uplifting advice.
âDonât let anyone tell you it canât be done. It can be done. Buy low, build highâ âA. Paul Gill, CEO Lomiko Metals (Graphite mining and processing)
Albert Scardino was a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist who made 22x his money investing in Canadian broadcasting rights and then even more in mining. He shared what he looks for in investments. Â It comes down to people.
âI look for people, for people I can trust and work with. I donât have a financial background, but Iâve found I can never get as much out of the financial statements as I can out of the people. I find that if you have the right people, you donât have to worry as much because you trust them and can take them at their word.â âAlbert Scardino, Chairman ImmunoVaccine (Biotech)
Full transcripts can be found at www.seekingalpha.com
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