valuerich-magazine-spring-2007-jones-soda

FEATURING SMALL路CAP COMPANIES Hamptons Luxury Homes, Inc. (OTCBB: HLXHl Security With Advanced Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: swAn

in the year 1758 to produce a timepiece for His Majesty. the King. Gevril set out on a historic journey to Madrid to present his masterpiece in person.

quality and beauty.

Communique

Being Goal Oriented and Having the Endurance to Get There.

Be a father, build your company, stay fit, be active, and have a life.

Time keeps on s/ippin; slippin; slippin; into the future.

One day you find, ten years have got behind you. No one told you when to run. You missed the starting gun.

On April15 of this year in Arizona, I successfully completed my first lronman Triathlon in 14 hours and 26 minutes. On April 16, I got engaged to Erica Elanann , a successful doctor from St. Augustine, Florida. On July 18, I began a grueling 21-day road show for the purpose of taking ValueRich, Inc. public. Today we are sending the eleventh quarterly issue of ValueRich magazine to the printer. We are doing an additional conference this year because of heavy demand. And of course, we stay continually focused on populating our newest venture www.iValueRich .com, our Web 2.0 social networking sight.

I also have a 5-year-old son, who needs an insane amount of time and attention . My weeks are filled with all that, plus the 12 hours per week of training (swimming, biking, running) to get ready for the next Iron man competition in July. Days fly by.

Some days I feel more fatigued than others, but what I believe is this: we are here on this planet for a very short period of time.

So, love the most, live a healthy life, be the best and commit yourself to short and long-term goals.

I have found that by putting my goals in writing, they become real. When I set my yearly goals I take one piece of paper and I write the headings 1. Spiritual, 2. Family, 3. Business, 4. Health, 5. Personal. Then I write what I want to accomplish in each of these categories. When I open that paper up 12 months later, it's amazing how close I've come to reaching my goals, if not totally completing them- no matter how high I set the bar.

What about your personal and business goals for the year? My suggestion to you is go to www.ivaluerich .com and create a personal profile. Upload a picture, write about yourself personally and professionally, and network within our growing community of financial professionals and small-cap leaders.

I know what you're thinking: what does pitching a ValueRich product really have to do with life goals? Well, I made it a personal and business goal to help change the small-cap financial world for the better through ValueRich. I think www.ivaluerich.com is one of the most useful business tools I have ever found or been associated with . If your goals include meeting better quality individuals who can help you increase your company 's financial strength and develop business, then iValueRich.com was built for you .

Join iValueRich.com. Network with me. We can reach our goals together.

www.iValueRich.com/josephvisconti

Joseph C. Visconti President and CEO, ValueRich, Inc.

2 VALUERICH MAGAZINE

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Where Money & Ideas Connect

Communique

Seeking the Enchanted Work Experience I was sitting alone, with a glass of wine, in my daughter's backyard as the day drew to a close.

She lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico - 7,000 feet above sea level in the dry desert mountains.

A late afternoon storm had rolled over the mountain earlier. The hard rain had soaked the town's unique pueblo-style homes and buildings, bringing intensity to their deep red, yellow and brown adobe walls. The brilliant blue high-altitude sky had deepened a few shades as the sun dropped behind the mountains. The lingering ultraviolet glow rendered a hundred different iridescent shades of green in the surrounding landscape. The aspen leaves shimmered jewel-like, flickering from green to silver in the breeze.

As I watched the household cat, Milagro, comically chase imaginary beasts through the bluegrass, her tail puffed and arching, I felt as if time had slowed to a stop and I was in an enchanted place.

I was acutely aware of everything, and all seemed right with the world. I felt inspired and rejuvenated . It was a true "stop and smell the rose s" moment- something I hadn't experienced in a long time.

But to the average Santa Fean, this wa s just another evening.

How many were going about their business, taking care of lastminute chores or cursing the traffic on their way home from work?

Work. I tried to think of anytime I had experienced a "stop and smell the roses" moment at work, and I couldn't . Don't get me wrong. I am one of those too-few people who truly loves his work, day in and day out. But on that New Mexican evening, I realized just how thoroughly I had compartmentalized my work from the rest of my life, and from my inner feelings .

Then I thought: if you were going to take a moment to bask in the beauty of work, what would be the source of your inspi ration? The typical office space, daily meetings or interoffice politics are probably not going to get your Zen mojo going. No, the essence of a business is most likely a direct reflection of its people- their creativity, devotion to task and earnestness.

In this issue of ValueRich magazine we contemplate the very bellybutton of entrepreneurship, by delving into the influence that people and their ideas have over a company 's success or its failure .

We profile three celebrities: a rocker, an actor and a model, all who have a passion for business and have found great success beyond their art. We also feature Gibson Corp., a company that has become a beloved icon among musicians through perseverance and continued innovation.

We offer a little something extra for readers who appreciate the new book by Robert I. Sutton, The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn't . We liked the book so much that instead of simply

reviewing it, we decided to offer clip-and-insert illustrations to go with it.

Pa ssion that brings success to a company can also come from its customers. In our cover story and interview, Jones Soda founder Peter van Stolk tell s us how his company 's marketing plan is designed to inspire customer devotion.

Of course, there are many more articles between these covers -

some entertaining, some inspirational, some

instructional, some informational. I hope that you can take a few minutes and sit with this issue, perhaps with a glass of win e, to "stop and smell th e ros es."

David A. Willson Editor, ValueRich magazine

4 VALUERICH MAGAZINE

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Redefining the gold standard.

Gold is good, but there is a higher standard. Ours. When

we introduced our NX technology we raised the bar on disclosure . We're the only news wire that owns and maintains its own network, ensuring maximum security and top speed delivery of your price sensitive news. And, Business W ire's EarningsDirect is the first user-friendly method for tagging earnings news releases, enabling companies to communicate earnings directly to the capital markets in XBRL. The fact is, no news wire has more full-service offices around the world, or more experienced editors. Clearly, blue is the new gold .

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Business WireÂŽCall our ex perts at 888.381.WIRE or v isit us at BusinessWire.com A Berkshire Hathaway Company C2007 Business Wire, the Business Wire logo, and Business Wired are trademarks of Business Wire, a Berkshire Hathaway company.

VALUE RICH THINK SMALL-CAP

Spring/Summer 2007

Joseph C. Visconti President & CEO joseph@ivaluerich.com David A. Willson Editor-in-chief dwillson@ivaluerich.com Liza Grant Smith Managing Editor liza@ivaluerich.com

The staff of Va/ueRich mangazine wants to meet you online at iValueRich.com ... join us!

J.C. Spradley Art Director jcs@ivaluerich.com Contributing Editors Rita Samols Kayla Willson Contributors Shawn Callahan Steve Crowley John E. Fitzgibbon, Jr. Garage Technology Ventures Kristina Henneberg Kellie Speed Denelle Swaim Advertising & Convention Sales Gregg Lowenstein Vice-President of Sales greggl@ivaluerich.com Dave Roeder Director of Business Development droeder@ivaluerich.com Pabla Ayala Events Director pabla@ivaluerich.com Adriana Guardia Accounting and Bookeeping adriana@ivaluerich.com Lance McCoy Account Executive lance@ivaluerich.com Chris Shea Account Executive cshea@ivaluerich.com Ashley Sosner Account Executive ashley@ivaluerich.com Beni Tsurumi Account Executive beni@i valuerich .com

The public companies listed below appear in the editorial pages of this issue.

AlphaTrade.com (OTCBB: APTD)

Medical Action Industries, In c. (NASDAQ: MDCI)

BioMimetic Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: BMTI)

Medical Nutrition USA, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDNU)

Bravo! Brands Inc. (OTCBB: BRVO)

PHC, Inc. (AMEX: PHC)

Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE: STZ)

Samaritan Pharmaceuticals (AMEX: LIV)

Cynosure, Inc. (NASDAQ: CYNO)

Security With Advanced Technology (NASDAQ: SWAT)

Double Eagle Petroleum Co. (NASDAQ: DBLE) Element 21 Golf Company (OTCBB: EGLF)

Sequia m Biometrics, Inc. (OTCBB: SQUM)

Escalade, Inc. (NASDAQ: ESCA)

Shire Pharmaceuticals Group (NASDAQ: SHPGY)

Gehl Company (NASDAQ: GEHL)

Simtek Corporation (NASDAQ: SMTK)

Generex Biotechnology Corp. (NASDAQ: GNBT)

Simtrol, Inc. (OTCBB: SMRL)

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG)

Simulations Plus, Inc. (AMEX: SLP)

Great Wolf Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ: WOLF)

Titan EntergyWorldwide (OTCBB:TEWW)

Hamptons Luxury Homes (OTCBB: HLXH)

Trex Company, Inc. (NYSE: TWP)

Internationa l Fight League, In c. (OTCBB: IFLI)

Vital Images, Inc. (NASDAQ:VTAL)

lsoRay Medical, Inc. (AMEX: ISR)

Williams Controls, Inc. (NASDAQ: WMCO)

Johnson Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ: JOUT)

Wireless Ron in Te chnologies (NASDAQ: RNIN)

Jones Soda Company (NASDAQ: JSDA)

WorldWater & Solar Technologies Corp. (OTCBB: WWAT)

Kintera Inc. (NASDAQ: KNTA) L.B. Foster Company (NASDAQ: FSTR)

ZAP (OTCBB: ZAAP)

ValueRich, Inc. publishes this magazine as a service to ou r customers. Our editorial goal is to provide a forum to promote communication of information and business objectives. Our articles, columns, advertisements and other features shou ld not be construed as investment or legal advice, nor does their appearance imply an endorsement by ValueRich of any specific investment, secu rity, transaction or strategy. The articles we publish contain the views solely of their respective authors and our publication.

There is not a claim, promise or guarantee about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information and neitherValueRich or its authors are responsible or liable for any trading or investment decisions made based on such information. Our affiliates, officers, directors and employees may have purchased or may buy shares discussed in ValueRich from time to time. We may also receive compensation from parties who utilize our publication services and engage in future transactions as a result of our services or publication.

Copyright 2007 by Value Rich, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction without the permission of the publisher is pro-

Reed Smith ChiefTechnology Officer reed@ivaluerich.com

hibited. The publisher and editors are not responsible for unsolicited material. Return postage must accompany all

Maki Ayala Convention Coordinator maki@ivaluerich.com

tion that has been misrepresented to the magazine.

manuscripts, photographs and drawings. Every effort has been made to assure that all information presented in this issue is accurate, and neither ValueRich magazine or any of its staff or authors is responsible for omissions or informa-

ValueRich magazine, Issue 11 Spring/Summer 2007, is published quarterly byValueRich, Inc., 1804 N. Dixie Highway, Suite A, West Palm Beach, FL 33407. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to ValueRich, 1804 N. Dixie Highway, Suite A, West Palm Beach, FL 33407. Phone: 561-832-8878, Fax: 561-841-1S24, www.ivaluerich.com

6 VALUERICH MAGAZIN E

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l.Contents

VALU RICH

THINK SMALL路 CAP

38 Cover Photo by Patrick Lennox Wright

i.Wont.l

16

22 44

Work up a sweat over this issue's collection of hot summer must-haves, including the ultimate hammock, an underwater MP3 player, trendy trunks and more.

n.Business Perfecting Your Pitch A slide-by-slide guide for making the perfect company pitch .

2g

Going Dutch Clay Corbus of WR Hambrecht +Co. is a proponent of controversial Dutch auction IPOs.

By Liza Grant Smith

92

Graduation Announcements

By Garage Technology Ventures

CEOs of the newest class of small-cap companies talk about graduating from the Bulletin Board to a major listing.

Famously Accomplished

Scoop

Discover how three well-known celebrities achieved entrepreneurial success.

By Ka yla Willson

58

Small-cap Summer Blockbusters

66

Factor Fiction

Va/uerich's top five picks for blockbuster small-cap companies .

32

By Liza Grant Smith

The ValueRich Marketplace: A directory of small-cap public companies and their financial objectives.

8 VALUERICH MAGAZINE

IPO Overview: First of its Vintage

By John E. Fitzgibbon, Jr.

Hole .in.l

34

How Element 21 Golf Company (OTCBB: EGLF) plans to revolutionize golf equipment with scandium alloy. Plus, a chipping lesson from a Butch Harmon School of Golf instructor.

Cover Story

Ayuda Funding redefines those factoring

truths previously held to be self-evident.

l l7

w.Street

38

Sweet Swig of Success CEO and marketing guru Peter van Stolk thinks traditional marketing approaches are a waste of time to inspire customer loyalty at Jones Soda (NASDAQ: JSDA) .

By Liza Grant Smith

Join The iValueRich Community

2.Contents

Spring/Summer 2007

42

THINK SMALL- CAP

One and Only

n.Motion Some turnaround suggestions for Cerberus Capital Management, the new owners of Chrysler.

VALU RICH

70

Gibson Guitar Company The Ballad of 20th Century Music

By David Willson

By Will Andrews

x. Ped itions

50

Escape from New York City

n.Review

80

Four luxurious destinations, only a short road trip from the city.

By Kellie Speed

a.Toast

64

88

n.Ovations Here's to your health!

Livecore Health Technologies

By Denelle Swaim

Vodka Tasting Notes A sampling of the newest innovations in the world of vodka .

The No Asshole Rule A new book about giving the boot to jerks in the workplace.

98

Cleaning Up at the Pump Emission & Power Solutions, Inc.

By Krist in a Henneberg

n. Every Issue 2 Communique

26 68 78 84 86 l 36

City Confidential Goodwill Hunting Small-cap Product Mix blog spot Eye.Ear.Nose. Throat n.Ciosing

10 VALUERICH MAGAZINE

104

Company >< Connect Living in Luxury Hamptons luxury Homes (OTCBB: HLXH)

By Denelle Swaim

108

Safe and Secure Security with Advanced Technology (NASDAQ: SWAT)

By Krist in a Henneberg

112

Eliminating Device-iveness Simtrol, Inc. (OTCBB: SMRL)

By Kristina Henneberg

Join The iVolueRich Community

March 27-28, 2007

VALUE RICH Miami Expo:

When the Heat met the Street The ValueRich Small-cap Financial Expo returned to Miami on March 2728, bringing the small-cap world and Wall Street professionals together for two packed days of presentation, innovation, celebration and a taste of South Beach sizzle.

Forty-seven small -cap and emerging companies, covering a full range of industries and including AeroGrow International (OTCBB : AGWI) ; Lorus Therapeutics Inc. (AMEX: LRP; TSX: LOR); lntelligentias, Inc. (OTCBB : ITLI); PureDepth , Inc. (OTCBB: PDEP) and Pressure BioSciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: PBIO), were showcased at the event, with key executives from each company also delivering 20-minute company presentations to interested financial professionals and potential investors.

The audience of more than SOO professional attendees included investment bankers, fund managers, institutional and accredited investors, research analysts, accountants and attorneys, who gathered to meet with and learn about the innovators and entities helping propel the small -cap market.

14 VALUERICH MAGAZIN E

Cool South Beach Night As the first day of events at the InterContinental Miami drew to a close, the networking and entertainment were just beginning. Expo attendees headed over to one of South Beach's celebrity hotspots, the trendy Shore Club, for an exclusive VIP After Party to celebrate the launch of ValueRich's new Web 2.0 community. Guests mingled poolside at the cocktail event and were treated to complimentary hand-rolled Torario Cigars and samples of top-shelfTrump Vodka. The Florida Marlins Mermaids were also on hand to add to the beauty of the surroundings.

Day 2 featured another morning of business development and was capped off by a three-course served lunch with presenting keynote speaker Charles Gassenheimer, Director and ViceChairman of Enerl, Inc. (OTCBB: ENE!) .

With another successful Expo in the books and a sure-to-sell-out New York Expo on June 21, it appears there is a loyal fan base of those who believe that ValueRich is indeed the best way to "Think Small-Cap." V R

Join The iValueRich Community

www . iVALUERICH .com

SPRING/ SUMMER 2007 1 S

Driving Me Lazy Old-school hammock fans, prepare to earn your master's degree in relaxation. The Cocoon Hammock, designed

by Henry Hall, is destin ed to turn catnapping into an ali-day event. With its sturdy Taukkyan wood frame reinforced at the joints with stainless steel and approximately 12-square-foot size, the Hammock offers a very inviting and visually appealing profile, perfect for high-end patios and backyards from California to Florida and everywhere in between. The hammock and covering, in white or cappuccino, are made with BatylineŠ, a synthetic material that is recyclable and resistant to rot, mildew and UV radiation. It also stretches only mini-

16 VALUERICH MAGAZINE

mally, which will help keep it looking new for years to come.

But don't enter into this commitment to laziness lightly- neither the cost nor the weight is something to be trifled with.

The Cocoon Hammock is priced around $20,000 and weighs over 400 pounds. If you 're going to commit the deadly sin of sloth, do it right. www.henryhalldesigns.com

Join The iValueRich Community

I Can Sea Clearly Now Stock up on videotapes and prepare to wow the neighbors with your home movies. (Not that they didn't enjoy the full-length coverage of your daughter's recent starring role as an elm in her school 's Arbor Day production.) With the Gates HC3 hou sing, you can bring underwater adventures to life in high-definition clarity. Thanks to the Gates housing unit, individuals can safely take their Sony HDR-HC3 camcorder with them on dives and capture HD video footage of all the underseas enchantment. The camera 's LCD is your built-in viewfinder and is easy to see, even in bright daylight, from wide viewing angles through a generous 2 x 3-inch window. Operation is easy with 100 percent mechanical fingertip controls rather than sticky buttons. And the device's quality optics mean clarity, sharpness and no vignetting (cutoff dark corners) to spoil your images. These high-quality results com e in a sm all package. The Gates HC3 housing is easy to check or carry on, weighing 7.5 pounds dry (slightly negative in water) and with dimensions of 7.5" D x 5.5" H x 0.8" W. No need to tel l everyone about what you saw on your latest dive when you can show them. As cool as your movie is, though, don't be surprised if your kids still like Finding Nemo better. www.gateshousings.com Available at www.marinevisions.com for $2,125

Who Let the Dogs Out? Kick off those requisite corporate shoes and let your dogs have some off-hours enjoyment with a pair of Kekai flip-flops from California-based OluKai. The Kekai offers textured water-resistant synthetic nubuck leather straps, quick-drying neoprene strap lining and a soft neoprene rubber sponge drop-in footbed. Adding to the shoes' comfort is a molded EVA mid sole with an exclusive OluKai anatomical footbed shape for supportive fit and enduring cushioning. Tran slation: you won't mind walking a mile in these shoes. And, in keeping with the Polynesian tradition of'He Awe Mai; or giving back to the community, the Kekai is a special-edition sandal that helps support the Rabbit Kekai Foundation. The Foundation, named after the legendary Hawaiian waterman, surfer and teacher Rabbit Kekai, was established to "promote surfing, support education and spread the spirit of aloha to children:' It's a welcome treat for your feet and a way to give back. $60 www.olukai.com www.rabbitkekai.org

www. iVALUERICH . com

SPRING / SUMMER 2007 17

Starry-Eyed Remember visiting the planetarium as a kid, sitting in the dark and staring at the domed ceiling as a booming voice took you on a tour of the nighttime sky? Like most thing s learned in elementary school (state capitals, the Pythagorean theorem, past participles) all that astronomy information is long gone. You're lucky if you can find the Big Dipper before your 6-year-old nephew does. Thanks to Celestron's SkyScoufM, however, Galileo has nothing on you. The handheld device uses advanced GPS technology to identify thousands of stars, planets, constellations and more. Just point the SkyScout at any star in the sky and click the "target" button to instantly learn what object you're looking at. Or to locate a star or planet, select the object's name from the menu and follow the directional arrows through the viewfinder. The SkyScout tells you when you're on target- simple enough for a child or a technologically challenged adult. Once an object is targeted, the SkyScout offers entertaining and education audio and text information, everything from facts, trivia and history to mythology about popular celestial objects. And this summer, the Company is introducing "Astronomy for Beginners" and "The Sky Explorer" SkyTour cards for the SkyScout, which provide new content and in-depth information and allow

you to do even more cool things such as learn to navigate by the stars the way ancient explorers did. Welcome to your own personal planetarium. Booming voice not included. www.celestron.com $399

Wood if I Could Wood-fired ovens seem intent on world domination.

After all, every self-respecting town has at least a handful of restaurants touting their wood-fired delicacies. Pizza joints, once slaves to conventional means, have also brought wood into their folds. Now, apparently, you 're not even safe in your own home. Sur La Table is offering a handcrafted terra cotta oven for your personal grilling pleasure. The authentic European wood-fired oven is fueled by hardwoods and fruitwoods, with heat building up in the internal oven chamber and dissipating slowly through the cooler outer shell. The resultant smoky flavor is perfect for fish, meat, vegetables, bread and, of course, pizza. The oven comes with a stand, door, oven rack, cover, pizza paddle and brush and stands 59 inches tall. The Company offers white-glove delivery service, with the grill assembled at your location choice and all packaging removed. Give in to the wood -fire revolution . Resisting this home invasion would lead to a tasteless existence. $2,000 (includes shipping) www.surlatable.com

18 VALUERICH MAGAZINE

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Well- Suited You're not seriously going to hit the beach with those old mall-purchased trunks again? Avoid the fashion equivalent of a belly flop this summer with a new suit from Vilebrequin. Known for their vibrant colors and

inventive patterns, Vilebrequin's trunks have been spotted on celebrities and style makers worldwide. Born in SaintTropez 30 years ago, Vilebrequin still focuses on winning over the world 's beautiful people by offering luxury without ostentation. The swimwear comes in two lengths (traditional boxer shorts and long boxer shorts) and an extensive choice of patterns. Prints for 2007 include, among others, underwater sea life scenes, a banana-infused pattern and a popular parrot print. If you feel like some window shopping, check out one ofVilebrequin's 13 U.S. store locations in places like New York, Southampton, Palm Beach and Boston .

Otherwise, you can surf their online shopping site at home.

Be forewarned, however: the size chart might have you contemplating a crash diet. A 3XL translates to a 38- to 42inch waist size. $160 for the traditional boxer shorts, $175 for the long www.vilebrequin.com

Adult Swim Save "Sharks and Minnows" for the kids; now you can have your own rockin' adult swim. With a Finis SwiMP3 underwater MP3 player, swimming laps turns into an entertaining activity, not just an exhausting one. Standard players rely on the

transmission of sound through air or water, which causes swimmers to perceive only muffled noise.

SwiMP3, however, is revolutionary in its reliance on the bone conduction of sound. When the device is placed on any bones of the skull, it leads to vibration of th e fluid in the inner ear and ultimately a sound clarity never before possible. Users simply strap the SwiMP3 to their face and secure with the included goggles. Fully waterproof and able to be used with every competitive swim stroke, the SwiMP3 is 128 MB, PC and Mac compatible and features a four-hour rechargeable battery. You'll be so busy getting into the groove, you may never want to get out of the water.

Suggested Retail Price: $249.99 www.swimp3.com

www . iVALUERICH .com

SPRING/ SUMMER 2007 19

Make early arrangements for the upcoming

VALUE RICH Small-cap Financial Expo San Francisco, oct. 3o, 2001 at the Grand Hyatt San Francisco The gold rush will be on as ValueRich showcases 45 publ ic companies at the epicenter of emerging high-tech and Pacific Rim business. Join us for another unique ValueRich Expo, where public company CEOs and their executive teams are available throughout the event, and the networking is non-stop during lavish breakfast, banquet lunch and cocktail events.

Register to attend and reserve your room at the special rate of $264 (single or double occupancy) now: www.ivaluerich.com/expo Or call Grand Hyatt San Francisco for reservations at 415-398-1234 (be sure to mention the ValueRich discounted rate).

Endle~rt~£k Pita:li

o~ the topic of busine~~ ~~: blogs have been written Pitching to investors.

So why does almost every entrepreneur get it wrong?

Because most guides to pitching your company miss the central point: The purpose of your pitch is to sell, not to teach . Your job is to excite, not to educate.

Pitching is about understanding what investors are most interested in, and developing a dialog that enables you to connect with the head , heart, and gut of each investor.

Contrary to what most entrepreneurs believe, investors are not thinking, "Is this company going to make a lot of money?" What investors are really thinking is, "Is this company the best next investment for me and my fund? " That is a much more complex question, but one an entrepreneur has to answer.

To win over the hearts and minds of investors, your pitch has to accomplish three things: • Tell a good, clear, easy-to-repeat story about an exciting new startup.

• Posi tion your company as a perfect fit wit h other investments 22 VALUERICH MAGAZIN E

n presentations and

By Garage Technology Ventures

the investors have made and their firm is chartered to make.

• Beat out the other new investment s the firm is currently considering.

These latter two issues are beyond the scope of this modest article. So for now, let's just concentrate on telling a good story.

Not the Ten Commandments You shouldn't take any template as graven in stone. You r story may require a moderate or even a dramatic variation from these example slides. You may need to explain the solution before you can explain the market; or if you are in a crowded space you may need to explain why you are different than everyone else early on in the conversation; or you may want to drop some very impressive customer brand names before you explain your product or your market. The one thing you may not do is expand the number of slides to 20 (or 30 or 50}! Other than that, let the specifics of your situation dictate the flow of your slides.

Nevertheless, it is useful to have a guide. With the caveats above in mind, here is a basic outline for your pitch: So here we have a good general outline for pitching your company. But remember, it's about selling your investment proposition , not about covering bases. Make sure every point you make connects with your audience. Keep your text very, very short. Use charts and pictures if you can.

Engage your prospect, instead of letting them play with their Blackberries under the table . Ask question s. " Do you think this market opportunity is interesting? " " Have you seen anyone else addressing this problem?"You may get some tough responses, but you will learn a lot more about what is going on in the investor's mind.

Don't get fi xated on using this or any other template. Make sure you address all the predictable "burning questions" as early as you can in your presentation, even if it means violating this sequence. centrate on .

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~·r.,..;

...

(~

n.Business

......• are multiple team members participating in the pitch,

You need to make it clear that there is a big, important problem (current or emerging) that you are going to sol ve, or

put the names on the next slide.

Key objective: Everyone in the room should know

opportunity you are going to exploit, and that you understand the market dynamics surrounding the opportunity- why does

location, tag line, presenter's name and title. If there

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the basic idea and value proposition of the company,

this situation exist and persist, and why is it only now that it

including the target market, before the next slide is

can be addressed? Frame your market analysis according to the specific problem and solution you are laying out.

shown . With one or two sentences orally, reinforce and

In some cases, however, the problem you are attacking is so

extend the tagline.

!

obvious and clear that you can drop this slide altogether. Save

Cardinal sin: Launching into your presentation with

yourself, and the investors, the pain of restating the obvious.

an investor at the table still thinking , "I wonder what these guys do?"

SLIDE 2.1

i

INTRO SLIDE

I

Pr bl

t .• List three or four key players in the company. It is just common courtesy to make sure everyone is introduced, and inve stors almost always want to know this at the beginning. However, don't share everyone's life story, or detail the resumes of all si x members of the advisory board. Focus on a significant, relevant accomplishment for each person that identifies that person as a winner.

..

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In most cases you can assert the size of your opportunity without a second slide. But sometimes you may need a dedicated slide to clarify the size and scope of the opportunity, particularly if you are going after multiple market segments.

Or there may be a unique emerging trend that requires explanation . Do not use this slide to quote the Gartner Group or Frost & Sullivan; show that you really understand where your prospective customers are from the ground up.

In 10 to 15 seconds, you should be able to say every-

SLIDE 3

thing the investors want to know about each member for the moment.

Key objective: Investors should be confident that there is a good credible core group of talent that believe in the company and can execute the next set of mile-

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What specifically are you offering to whom? Use common terms to state concretely what you have, or what you do, that

stones. It is important to convey that the initial team

solves the problem you 've identified. Avoid acronyms or idi -

know s how to attract great talent. If there is a gap in

omatic lingo of your indu stry, and don't try to use these pre -

the team, address it expl icitly, before investors have to

cious few words to create and trademark a bunch of term s that

ask about it.

are meaningless to most people. If you can demon strate your solution (briefly) in a meeting, this is the place to do it.

SLIDE 1 SLIDE 3.1

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The best way to give an overview of your company

You might need an extra slide to show how your solution fits in the value chain of your target market. Do you comple-

is to state concisely what unique benefit will you provide to what set of customers to address what particular

.•

need ? Then you can add three or four additional dot points to clarify your target markets, your unique technology/s olution, and your status (launch date, current

,.

customers, revenue rate, pipeline, funding needed) .

Key objective: Flesh out the foundation you established at the beginning. At this point, no one should have any question about what it is that your company does, or plan s to do. The only question s that should

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names early and often- starting with your first email introduction to the investor. Brand name relationships

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build your credibil ity, but do not overstate them if they

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are tenuous.

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cheaper? Do you disrupt the current value chain , or do you fit into established channels? Who exactly is the buyer, and is that person different th an the user?

Ben

that your audience knows about any compelling brand names associated with your company. Feel free to drop

i

ment commonly used technologies, or do you displace them ?

Do you change the way certain business proces ses get executed, or do you just do them the same way, but faster, better and

SLIDE 4

remain are about the details. You should also make sure

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State clearly and quantify the three or four key ben efits you provide, and specify who realizes these benefits. Do some constituents benefit more than others, or earlier than others?

These dynamics should inform your go-to-market strategy, and your product/service road map, which you will discu ss later.

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www. iVALUERICH .com

SPRING / SUMMER 2007 23

IPo

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If you are in a business sector in which intellectual

CompetitiY Advantag t eng sa d ea es

property is important, this is where you drill down into your secret sauce. Th is is usually some combination of proprietary techno logy, unique team domain expertise, and u ni q ue partnership. Boil th is down to simple

Depending on how im porta nt the ana lysis of competitive players is in your market segment, you may need a detailed li st of compe titors by category with t heir strengths and weaknesses in comparison w ith your

elements and terms, devoid of jargon. Highlig ht elements of your technology that have unique potential

r•

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for leverage and scale as you grow. If you do slides 4

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and 5 we ll, it will help make the case for your co mpetitive advantage.

I

SLIDE 6

!

Most entrepreneurs misunderstand the objecti ve of this slide, wh ich is not to enumerat e all the deficiencies

company. Preferably, develop this as a "pocket slide" to be used for Q&A, if necessary. It is important that yo u don't misrepresent the competition's strength s or their weak nesses.

SLIDE 7

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o-to m

of the compet ition (as much fun as that may be). Yo u need to conv ince the investor that lots of fo lks wi ll buy

! !

already expressed some interest in yo ur so lution. Too

your product or se rvice, even though they have severa l alternatives- and don't forget that th e toughest com-

!....

often this slide is a bland lau ndry list of standard sales and marketing tactics. You shou ld focus on the non -

petitor is often the statu s quo. The best way to do this

r·· ~ !

obvious, critical hurdles you need to get over, and how you are going to jump them. If you don't have a pipe-

is to have actua l customers or prospects summarize in their ow n words the three or four key reasons why they prefer yo ur so lution to other so luti ons.

Many en trepreneu rs are coac hed to use a foursquare

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matrix on this slide showing that they are in the upper

!

right-hand q uad rant, but this has become a joke in the

I

check-box criteria reflect the market's requirements, not

r

The sing le most compell ing slid e in any pitch is a pipel ine of customers and strategic partners that have

•

then drop this slide and make the elements of your sales , . l.in• e•,•a•n•d• •t hiielirli eiiiil s li n o thililnli i g• u •n • i•q•u•e• a•b• o• u• t• ylio u ri lsitl.raiitile g y,• rtl!l model clear in the business model discussion.

5 11

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investor community. Check boxes are better. Make sure just your product 's features.

............................................................................................................................:

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Make sure that everyone in the room is introduced. While you

minutes allotted, you want to have time to engage the inves-

may already be fam ili ar with each inve stor 's bio, it's fair t o ask

tors and discuss their questions or concerns . Prepare "pocket

something like, " What investments have you been looking at

sli de s" that you can put up if additional critical points need to be made.

recently?" You shou ld absolutely have unknown investors intro•

•

•

duce themselves and provide a little background.

•

Don't use a feel-good, visionary"Mission Statement" on your overview slide. Mission statements have become a joke. Focu s on

•

Control the flow of the meeting, without seeming inflexible

making sure yo ur statement of your company 's va lue proposition is crisp, clear, and unique.

or anxious. Watch and li sten . Body language and questions wi ll

Prepare good-use cases . No matter how simp le and clear the de scriptio n of a produ ct , sometimes wh at th e investor really needs is a concrete examp le of how people will actua lly use it.

You may need to explain a variety of different cases to get your point acro ss.

let your audience take ove r, you wi ll probably create a confusing impre ss ion of your company.

Address "burning questions" early and effectively; otherwise the investors won't hear anythi ng else you say.

tell you if you ca n defer a point or if you need to address it. If you

• •

Drop names, early and often . Make sure the investor knows about brand names involved with your company (as customers, as partners or members of the team) early in the presentation .

But, be prepared for the investor to co ntact every single name you drop.

•

Average investor attention span: 10 slides. Average entrepreneur pitch: 38 slides. Do the math.

Tell your entire story in 10 to 15 minutes. Even if you have 20

24 VALUERICH MAGAZINE

•

Don't lie. Hype, exaggeration, misrepresentation, spinning, or lying is not se llin g. The best salespeople are credibl e and trustworthy. It is more important that investors trust you than t hat they understand every nuance of your business.

Pitching investors is different than pitching customers. Do not think you can simply modify a customer presentation slightly for pitching to investors. Sta rt from scratch .

Join The iValueRich Community

I

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· · ··· · ·· ··~

How do you make money? There are lots of varia tions on the standard theme. Explain your pricing, your costs, and why you are going to be especially profitable.

Many investors will want to test the depth of your understanding of your business model. Prepare to defend the key assumptions. What if it takes twice as long to make each sale? What if your co st s don't decline over time ?

Be ready to articulate the sensitivity of your bu siness to variation s.

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111

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On this slide you should outl ine how you plan to take in funding- how big each round will be, and the timing of each- and map the funding against your key near-term and medium-term milestones.

..

Investors want to know that you are asking for the right amount of money to get the company to a meaningful milestone. Provide a clear, cri sp picture of your operating plan for the funds you are raising . Do not spend time presenting a "use of fund s" table. Investors want to see measures of accomplishment, not activity - include your key achievements to date, tied to the key metrics in your financial projections.

SLIDE 9

SUMMARY SLIDE

n

IS e Most entrepreneurs just put up three or four dot points about how wonderful their investment opportunity is. Generally, Investors hear the same words, such as, "We have a huge opportunity, and we will be the winners;' from scores of other entrepreneurs.

The two previous slides above should come together neatly in your five -year financial projections. You should show the two or three key metrics that drive revenues, expenses and growth (such as customers, unit sales, new products, expansion sales, new markets), as well as the revenue, expense, profit, cash balance, and headcount lines.

Key objective: Your financials should tell your story in numbers as clearly as you are telling your story in words.

Investors are not focused on the precision of your numbers; they 're focused on the coherence and integrity of

'····~

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Imagine that th is is the only slide you will ever be able to present. If you had to do your whole pitch in one slide (with 30 point font) , this is that slide. Solidify the core value propo sition of your company in words that are memorable and unique to your company. This is a good place to reinforce your tagline, or mantra . If the investor in the room has to give a short description of your company to his partners, these are the words you want used.

your thought process.

' • , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . . u oo ooo o o o oo uoo uooo•'

·............l

•

You don't have to be "conservative," but be realistic.

•

Entrepreneurs are pathologically optimistic. Find examples of comparable challenges addressed by other companie s, and use that data in your model.

Never ever put so much text on a page that the investor has to read it. Everything should be presented in short, con-

•

'··· · ~

So here we have a good general outline for pitching your company. But remember, it's about selling your investment proposition, not about covering bases. Make sure every point you make connects with your audience. Keep your

tent-rich bullets using a font large enough to read without

text very, very short. Use charts and pictures if

squinting.

Use simple, compelling graphics. If pictures, graphs, and charts have to be deconstructed and explained piece by piece, you will lose focus and momentum .

Never use your presentation as a standalone document. It is perfectly okay if it is not readable when you are not around.

That's the job of your executive summary or your business

you can .

questions. "Do you think this market opportu-

plan .

about what is going on in the investor's mind.

Garage Technology Ventures is a seed-stage and early-stage venture capital fund headquartered in Palo Alto, California, with investors that

Engage your prospect, instead of letting them play with their Blackberries under the table. Ask nity is interesting?""Have you seen anyone else addressing this problem? " You may get some tough responses, but you will learn a lot more Don't get fixated on using this or any other template. Make sure you address all the predict-

include Thomas Weisel Partners and CaiPERS, the California Public

able "burning questions" as early as you can in

Employees Retirement System. Garage is focused on investing in infor-

your presentation, even if it means violating this

mation technology and materials science startups in the Western U.S.

sequence. Those are the issues you need to con-

For more information about Garage, visit www.garage.com.

centrate on.

www .iVALUERICH .com

R

SPRING / SUMMER 2007 25

See and Be Seen Best place to impress clients: Foundation Room Atop the Mandalay Bay

Best place to see who's who in Vegas business: Piero's 355 Convention Center Dr.

Best steak: SW Steakhouse At the Wyn n Las Vegas

Bar with the least amount of annoying tourists: Sedona

Best place for a late night meal:

9580 W Flamingo Rd.

In-N-Out Burger

Best place to nurse a hangover:

Vari ous Locations

The big leather chairs at the

Where most Vegas deals get done: Bellagio sportsbook Verandah Four Seasons

Best undiscovered spot:

Most overrated restaurant:

At th e Barbary Coast

Drai's

Alain Ducasse's Mix THEhotel

The World of Vegas Professionals One thing all Vegas professionals should have in their closets to fit in:

Drink of choice for Vegas posers: Any flavored martini.

Nice sunglasses and a decent watch.

One thing all Vegas professionals should

have in their closets to stand out: Nothing- the old schoolers don't like guys who try too hard.

What phrase describes the way business is done in Vegas?

A town controlled by few.

Drink of choice for true Vegas businessmen: Red Bull & Vodka.

26 VALUERICH MAGAZIN E

What is something you would almost never see a Vegas businessman do?

Drive down the strip.

If you had to cast a Hollywood actor to accurately portray a typical Vegas businessman: Jerry Weintraub (Sonny Capps in The Firm)

What poses the largest threat to the novice Vegas businessman?

Getting too drunk to make your breakfast meeting.

Join The iValueRich Community

RULE 144 ANXIETY? THERE'S A BETTER WAY TO TAKE THE EDGE OFF

CALL US OUR STREAMLINED APPROACH TO RESTRICTED STOCK SALES CAN GET YOU LIQUID FASTER AND EASE THE STRESS. At Divine Capital Markets, we know timing is everything. Our clients benefit from a streamlined process, led by experienced professionals with a thorough understanding of the business. We can get you there faster and without the stress. Call Lisa Clayman at 212.344.5867 or email 144@divinecapital.com

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THE RESTRICTED STOCK SALE SPECIALISTS Member NASD SIPC MSRB ISE

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In 1968, at 32 years of age , Bill Hambrecht cofounded Hambrecht & Quist, a San Francisco-based investment bank that specialized in emerging high-growth technology companies.

The firm was ultimately responsible for launching some of greatest success stories in Silicon Valley, including the IPOs of Apple, Adobe and Genentech, to name just a few. In addition to gaining experience, years spent knee-deep in the IPO market exposed Hambrecht to what he felt were frequent abuses to the traditional system . As a result, in 1998, 30 years after his initial entrepreneurial foray, he founded WR Hambrecht +Co, an investment bank that employs a very different approach to IPOs. Using a Dutch auction system, which Hambrecht calls an "Open IPO'"" auction , the firm believes it offers a fairer, cheaper and smarter way to take companies public. Wall Street hasn 't exactly embraced the revolutionary idea . In fact, investment banks have been known to discourage clients from using auctions for their IPOs. While they cite that the method is new and unproven, their distaste may also result from the loss of control and immense profits inherent in the new system .

ValueRich decided to interview Clay Corbus, co-CEO ofWR Hambrecht +Co, to find out his behind-the-scenes per-

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spective on the impor;;: tance of Open IPOs and Clay Corbus of WR Hambrecht +Co why the market is so 1,000. Basically, you start from the top resistant to change. and move down until you can sell them ValueRich: How does your Open IPO work? all. That gives you the highest price at which you can sell everything you have.

Clay Corbus: There are two types From an IPO perspective, we put it out of auctions. An English auction is for bid, starting at the highest bid and what most people are familiar with. moving down until we can sell all of the It's what you have at Sotheby's with a shares. To take another simplistic viewpoint, it's where supply equals demand for the amount of supply you have. Any stock price you see quoted on the NASDAQ or NYSE is set by Dutch auction . It's the highest fine piece of art. The bidding marches price you can have for the shares so you have enough buyers. In essence, what up to get the highest price. The other way, where you count down, is called we're trying to do is bring the right price and the right buyers (which is equally a Dutch auction . In this case, you have numerous identical products, like flowas important as the price) into the IPO ers. (The name actually comes from the at the time of pric ing rather than in the Amsterdam flower market.) For example, aftermarket. assume you need to sell 1,000 flowV R: What advantages does that ers . You start off at $30 and determine offer? how many you can sell at that price. If CC: I think the traditional IPO system has really gotten creaky. The rules it's only 200, you drop the price down for the current IPO system were writto $29 . At that level, you can sell 600. ten in the Securities Act of 1933, and So you drop down to $27, where you an awful lot has changed in the real can sell 900. Finally, at $25 , you can sell

'/think the traditional IPO system has really gotten creaky'

28 VALUERICH MAGAZINE

WRHAMBRECHT+CO Join The iValueRich Community

world since 1933 . What you see is that the current system is rigged against the long-term buyers and against the compa ni es. Now, most IPOs go to fast money. People who get the shares let it trade for a litt le bit and then sell them, which is why the average IPO d iscount is 13 percent so far thi s year. You have peop le who monetize that 13 percent di scount, but often t hey don't have an interest in ho lding the shares for the long term. If someone were to give you a share of stock today and you know it's going to go up, on average, 13 percent in one day, almost regardles s of whether you like the company or not, you 're going to say, "Sure, I' ll take that." Once you sell it in the aftermarket, whoever really wants to own the stock is going to buy it at the higher price. By using an auction and finding where the supply meets demand, you end up getting the longer-term shareholders involved in the stock at the time it is going public rather than in the aftermarket . You get the longer-term shareholders and you

get the right price.

V R: Why are underwriters resisting this?

CC: Our process is transparent, efficient and oftent im es electron ic. By doing that, it really reduces any fric tion you may have in the underwriting process. The traditional process makes a lot of money off that frict ion . If you 're an underwriter and have merchandise

a kickback scheme. If you deliver a 10 perce nt price increase on the first day to a hedge fund , you can expect that you 're going to get substa nti al commissions in the subsequent days to thank the investment bank for that stock in the f irst place.

VR: What are other firms telling people to dissuade them from using a Dutch auction?

CC: What they say is " It's a new product .

It's not really proven . It might be useful in 10 years or so, but the market 's not ready for it right now:' However, we can show charts until we're blue in the face as to why thi s is a more efficient system and how our performa nce is much better. Our aftermarket performance on the first day is up 2 percent, but our aftermarket performance in the long term is better than that of any other firm on Wall Street. We have a much more rationa l, better product, but

'By using an auction and finding where the supply meets demand, you end up getting the longer-term shareholders involved in the stock at the time it is going public rather than in the aftermarket.' that's going to be discounted 15 percent, you can make a lot of money by giving that merchandise to your best clients. So, what you typically find is that an investment bank will allocate the shares to its best customers rather than to people who want to own the stock the most.

By doing that, they make money with those customers- whether it's on that IPO or in other ways. In effect, you get

OpeniPO速 Provides More Accurate Pricing <1 >

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Sources: Equldesk and Capita/ 10 (1) January 1, 1999 to May 1, 2007. Current uses share price at acquisition announcement, where applicable.

(2) WRH +Co excludes Andover.net.

(3) Data set Includes over 1,800 IPOs for which price data was available on Capitali O.

www. iVALUERICH . com

SPRING/ SUMMER 2007 29

it takes away the leverage and profits of the established investment banking firms , so there's an enormous amount of resistance.

V R: What do you think will ultimately drive the adoption and acceptance of Open IPOs? CC: It 's going to have to be issuer driven . We've had our best success with issuers who look at their firm's stock as an asset of the firm and don't want to have it underpriced. They want to ma ke sure it gets into the right hands, and anything in excess of that they look at as money out of their pocket. A good example would be if I sell my hou se to a broker for $1 million and the very next day he turns around and sell s it to his friends for $1 .2 million. That was my asset and I'm upset that I left an extra $200K on the table. It doesn't seem right.

Other companies may like the brand strength of a Goldman or a Morgan or a Lehman Brothers or have always dreamed of building a company and having a name brand take it public. That's where we find most of the competition -not in the performance of what we do, but in the brand strength of our competitors.

V R: Is there a particular kind of company or specific industry that this appeals to, or is better for, than another?

CC : The process works equally well across industries, but it naturally appeals to those companies with a good brand or large affinity group. A traditional offering is targeted, with a very narrow institutional focus . We try to expand that focus. As in any auction, the more people you have participating, the more effective it's going to be. The reason eBay is so successful is because so many people look at each of its auction s. Generally, we want to make sure as many people participate as possible.

So companies that have a good brand or a large customer base (such as Internet companies or retail brands) have a lot of people they think may be interested in participating in the stock. There's sort of a natural fit there. We've also found that we 've had a fairly wa r m reception in areas, such as financial services, where cost of capital is very important.

V R: Is it difficult to be going against the grain?

CC: It's hard to be a trailblazer- you get a lot of arrows. But we firmly believe, based on the way that the world is moving towards transparency and fairness and electronic execution, that there 's ample and enormous opportunity in the new issue market to bring that rational ba sis to the IPO process.

V R: Why is achieving fairness in IPOs important?

CC: It 's important because I don 't think the system is serving investors or companies well. There's just a better way to do it, and ultimately the better way is going to trump the brands that haveespousedtheconventionalwayof doing it. What's interesting is, say they

ment banks. Nobody is forcing them to change, and they 're sitting on a system that serves them very well. We're trying to force that change.

What's also interesting is what this does for professional investors who are interested in IPOs. In a traditional offering, the small guys neve r get into the deal unless the deal isn't going well. If it's a hot deal, you never call the small guys. The only time you call them is if you need to fill out the demand. What 's different about an auction is that everybody is on equal footing . The smallest investor has the same standing as the largest mutual fund . Again , I go back to the open market. What you pay for Yahoo ! In the open market is basically what Fidelity is going to pay for Yahoo!, and that works in our deals as well. You don't have to have a trading relationship with a large firm in order to have access to our deals.

VR: Final thoughts?

CC: We feel there 's a lot of momentum in what we're doing. It's never easy to knock over any big firms, and I don't want to imply that we're at that stage yet, but I think the momentum and our business are building, and the acceptance and acknowledgement of what we're trying to do is being realized . One of the investors in our firm , who is the leader of a large mutual fund, has said, "''m making this investment because I've never believed that you can hold back the hands of the clock." In other words, there's some sort of inevitability in what we're doing.

Whether in two months or two years or ten years, it 's going to have its day.

fThere's just a better way to do it, and ultimately the better way is going to trump the brands that have espoused the conventional way of doing it.'

30 VALUERICH MAGAZINE

price an IPO on a Wednesday afternoon at $15 . The next morning, in order to determine what the opening price is, the NYSE and NASDAQ both use Dutch auctions to determine the opening price. I find it enormously incongruent that you wouldn 't use a Dutch auction to give the company its money. If you 're going to find the price the next morning using a Dutch auction , why don't you use a Dutch auction for the company?

That would find you your aftermarketwho is willing to pay more and take big blocks . That information should absolutely be part of the IPO pricing, yet it's not. The reason it's not the case is that it doesn't serve the interest of the invest-

VR More info: www.wrhambrecht.com

Select WR Hambrecht + Co auction offerings: 速

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traffic.

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INTERWEST TRANSFER COMPANY, INC.

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IPO Scoop \PO Overview:

First of its Vintage (Real world Dutch auction stories)

By John E. Fitzgibbon, Jr. On the evening of April 8, 1999, a San Francisco-based banker and his client sat down to hammer out the price of the company 's IPO. The bank was WR Hambrecht + Co and the client was Ravenswood Winery, and they were about to step into American financial folklore.

The next day, the initial public offering they priced was a major departure from Wall Street's traditional way of underwriting IPOs. It's called a Dutch auction.

The Dutch auction had been common practice in Europe and Asia for decades, but this was the first time it was used in the U.S. capital markets to price an IPO. Here's how the Dutch auction works: Any qualified investor may place a bid for the IPO stating how many shares he or she wants and at what price. After the cutoff date, all the bids are collected and the offering price is determined by the highest price it takes to sell all the shares: in Wall Street jargon, the "clearing price:' The goals are to get a fair price for the issuer and to know who the investors are and that they are committed for the long term . The Dutch auction strives to provide long-term returns rather than a short-term pop.

That was exactly what happened with the Ravenswood Winery IPO. The Sonoma, California-based winery offered 1 million shares at $10 .50 each . That was on the low end of its $1 0.50- to $13 .50-per-share filing range.

The IPO closed its opening day at $10.88 per share, up 3.57 percent from its offering price.

32 VALUERICH MAGAZINE

That wasn't much of an opening-day pop, considering that the average firstday gain in 1999 was 77 percent, according to available reports.

Nevertheless, WR Hambrecht raised as much capital as it could for its investment banking client and didn't leave a significant amount of money on the table for "flippers" to pocket big profits, as they do when an IPO is underpriced.

Price points On April 23, 2001 , Constellation Brands purchased Ravenswood Winery for $29.50 per share - up 181 percent from its offering price.

Since April 1999, Wall Street has floated 17 Dutch auction IPOs, according to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings. The median dollar amount raised was $33 .6 million, which was the August 4, 2004, offering of New River Pharmaceuticals at $8 per share.

On April 16, 2007, Shire acquired New

The largest Dutch auction to date is Google's /PO on August 18,2004, when bankers raised $1.67 billion.

River for $64 per share for a gain of 700 percent from its offering price.

The largest Dutch auction to date is Google's IPO on August 18, 2004, when bankers raised $1.67 billion. The smallest is Ravenswood, with $10.5 million.

Due to the structure of a Dutch auction, there is little aftermarket pop in the price . The medium opening-day gain is 1.25 percent.

Dutch auctions have been known to defy gravity twice, but both times there was a reason .

The sharpest opening-day gain came on December 8, 1999, with Andover.net, an Acton, Massachusetts-based operator of a network of Web sites. Its IPO was priced at $18 per share and closed on opening day at $63.38, UP 252.1 percent from its offering price. Informed sources said Andover.net's "clearing price" was well above its offering price.

Here's what was coming down that week in December seven years ago. The IPO calendar for the week of December 6 was crowded with many hot dot-com

deals, including VA Linux Systems (which skyrocketed to an opening-day gain of 697.5 percent) and FreeMarkets (which surged to an opening-day gain of 483.3 percent).

The banker had a choice when pricing Andover.net: price the deal lower than its "clearing price" and get it out the door ahead of the "big boys" or file an amendment increasing the price and causing a delay. If the IPO were delayed, the banker believed, the Dutch auction would have gotten lost among the highprofile deals coming to market the next day. The deal was priced below its "clearing price" and bang! The IPO was off and running.

The only other time a Dutch auction was priced well below its "clearing price" was with Google.

On August 18, 2004, investment bankers priced the IPO at $85 per share, but allocated about 75 percent to the winning bids.

It appeared as if the bankers had scraped about 25 percent of the orders off the table. That gave the deal a sharp opening-day pop. The IPO started trading the next day (August 19, 2004) at $100.01 , up 17.7 percent above its offering price.

Dr. Ann E. Sherman, an assistant professor in the Department of Finance and Business Economics at the University of Notre Dame, made an interesting point in her May 2003 essay, "Global Trends in IPO Methods: Book Building vs. Auctions." She said that deliberately underpricing a Dutch auction is known as a "dirty auction:' "In other words," she wrote, "the price may be set below the maximum level that would allow all shares to be sold (clearing price), which means that shares must be rationed:' Nevertheless, the Dutch auction didn 't make a dent in Wall Street 's underwriting procedures. From April 9, 1999, through April9, 2007, investment bankers priced about 1,940 IPOs. Only 17 of them went Dutch. VR John E. Fitzgibbon, Jr. has been an investment banker, an analyst and a journalist.

He recently launched IPOScoop.com, covering the /PO market for Wall Street. Mr. Fitzgibbon was previously a co-host of The /PO Show, on national radio. He was recognized with "Best of Wall Street" for /PO coverage by CBS MarketWatch in 1998.

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Bill Dey, COO of Element 21 Golf Company (OTCBB: EGLF), tells ValueRich about how e21 plans to use scandium alloy to revolutionize the world of golf equipment and shave strokes off your game.

Value Rich : Give us a little background on your scandium alloy shafts.

Bill Dey: We started out about ten year s ago as a technology company and licensed the technology from the Russians. They used scandium extensively in their MiG jets, aeronautical program and space program, and we saw what the properties of scandium could do. Eventually we bought the intellectual properties and patent applications. We then took the technology and licensed it to a manufacturer in Korea to build very high-end tent poles. We looked at the technology he was using to extrude tent poles with scandium content in them and applied it to golf shafts.

VR: What are the inherent advantages of using scandium alloy in golf shafts and clubs?

BD: First of all , the material has an incredible strength-toweight ratio over its com-

34 VALUERICH MAGAZI N E

petitors. For instance, we're 25 percent stronger and 50 percent lighter than titanium, which today is used by 98 percent of people in the golf industry. In comparison with composites, we have a strength-to-weight ratio of 52 percent stronger and against stainless steel we have a 70 percent advantage. So the properties of scandium are quantumly better than our competitors in the golf industry today.

VR: What will golfers notice while using them?

BD: The golf shaft, because of its strength , has a torque of as low as 1.4 degrees. This does a number of things.

First of all, the shot pattern is much tighter. Also, the transfer of energy is much better than it would be from steel or a composite. So, as a result, you get much longer shots from an equivalent iron. According to independent testing, we 're anywhere between 10 and 15 yards longer than our competitors in shot and we have a much tighter pattern .

V R: What has been the initial feedback?

BD: Most people's first reaction is to say, "It feels like butter:' They say that because of what they're not feeling.

There are high-frequency waves and low-frequency waves. High-frequency waves are the ones that actually damage your wrists, elbows and shoulders.

That's what comes through in steel and graphite shafts. In scandium -based shafts, we have about a 300 percent "shock block" and it basically negates any of those high-frequency waves. As a result, you don't get that hard feeling that you would from our competitors.

You get more of what we call "little frequency waves," which means you get a much better feel. The second thing that people are really surprised about is the distance. You are getting more distance than you do with graphite and you get a much tighter shot pattern than you get from steel. It's a great combination of both .

V R: Which professional golfers have switched to or begun testing your products?

BD: As it has been reported in numerous golf-related magazines , Davis Love Ill, Tom Lehman , and John Cook are all using our shafts. To give you a stat, John Cook went from being 67th in greens in regulation percentage in 2006 to, at one point, reaching number one in this year. That's why, if you want to quantify, that there's such an enormous difference between playing our shafts and what has basically been an industry standard for 60 years.

On the Tour, if you're averaging 25 feet from the pin and you can bring it in to 15 feet from the pin, your opportunity Join The iValueRich Community

for birdies is just that much better.

V R: What did you think when you first played a round with the scandium shafts?

BD: When I first met the two founders, they said, "Here, take this 3 iron," which is not exactly the easiest iron to hit. I played three holes with it at my own course and quite honestly couldn 't believe the distance and the straightness of the shot. So, after the third hole, I phoned them from my cell phone and just said , "I can 't believe how good a product this is" and "I'd like to meet on Monday:' Before I joined Element 21, I was the President ofTommy Armor Golf and had said , " I'm not going to get back in the

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golf business unless there's something dramatically different that has a point of reference and a point of difference to anyone else in the marketplace." It's very hard sometimes to pull yourself over the fence and say, " Do I believe in this or is it real?" What really convinced me was what happened when they licensed the technology to Easton Sports. Easton brought out a product line called Redline bats and there was such a quantum difference in performance from their titanium bats that the titanium bats were eliminated from their line in less than eight months. This was during my first week or two of research before I decided I would join the company. I was mesmerized and said, "Why

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V R: What's next for Element 21 Golf?

BD: On the product side, we're pretty excited about the fact that we're going to do a soft introduction of our new driver coming out in July. According to our independent lab testing, it completely outperforms the three top drivers on the market. That's a good, good thing .

To locate a retailer near you, please visit Element 21 's Web site at: www.e21 golf.com

II product images courtesy of Element 21 Golf Company

By: Shawn Callahan

Get schooled in one of the most overlooked parts of the game When you think of all the shots on the golf course, those from 100 yards and less account for the majority of your strokes- roughly 60 percent. Even on your best days of striking the ball, you 're bound to miss a couple of greens. That's when you wish you 'd spent more time chipping and putting before the round.

The typical player who comes to the Butch Harmon School of Golf looks fairly good hitting long shots with irons and woods. They also look fairly good with the putter in their hands and even decent out of the bunker. When they get to the chipping green, however, they look pretty inexperienced. That's just lack of practice.

Spend some time working on the skill area and you 'll really see your scores drop. Whenever I ask a player how they made it from the mini tours to the PGA tour, the answer is always chipping and putting. The strength of all the best players in the game is around the greens.

A common mistake in chipping is flipping your hands at the ball, what is called "breaking down ," i.e., letting the clubhead flip past your hands in an attempt to help the ball up and to the hole. This results in chilidipping the shot or hitting it thin and sailing across the green. I································································································)

www . iVALUERICH .com

SPRING/ SUMMER 2007 35

Setting up the shot correctly can provide a simple fix to this problem: (Note: You'll stand closer to the ball for this shot.)

> Put the clubface down and point it at your target before you set your feet.

> Keep the clubface pointed at the target and set your feet so that the ball is back in your stance.

> Then, with the clubface still pointed at the target, set your hands forward on your left (or forward) thigh.

>Your head is in front of the ball, which will make you hit the ball first.

Hands forward, ball back in stance, clubface pointed at target. That's all you need to think about for your setup.

Now, just keep your hands in front of the club as you hit the shot. You can use your hands and arms in a putting motion if you want. That works fine. We use a training aid called the "impact ball:' It's an 8-inch ball with notches on its sides so you can hold it between your arms. By using it while you hit chips and short pitch shots, you can follow through without breaking down at the ball.

It really works well!

Club selection is also important to the style of shot you're going to play.

There are two basic shots to

Only this time, your takeaway is

master:

much more handsy. You really want

The bump and run is a low run-

to pick the clubhead up with your

ning shot along the ground and is

hands and create lots of angle. To

usually played from fairway lies,

create a very steep takeaway, imag-

where the grass is mowed short,

ine there is a wall 3 feet behind you

or the hard pan. For this shot, use

on your backswing that you 're try-

www.ThelmpactBall.com

Afinal note: If you chip well and want to improve, work on your imagination and feel. Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are two of the best at this. These guys get up and down from garbage cans because of their imagination and feel.

If you have some slopes and hills on your chipping green, try playing away from the hole and letting the ball

a 7 iron or something with less loft,

ing to avoid . Hit down and through

take the slope and roll to the hole. We have chipping con-

so the ball will run more than fly.

sharply (chopping down with the

tests like this at the school with good players, and it really helps their feel and imagination. If you have more than

I use my hands and arms in a put-

clubhead) to a short finish. Be sure

ting motion , so the ball stays low

to hit through the ball. It should just

and chases up to the hole. Ball back,

pop out of the lie and land softly on

hands forward, clubface at the tar-

the green. Many people hit to the

or-nothing mentality that adds pressure to the execution

get, and putting motion. Your legs

ball rather than through i t - result-

oft he shot. At The Masters, you see players do this all the

may swivel, but don't let them sag

ing in the chili dip. You really want

in the swing. Stay tall.

to make sure your head is in front

The second shot is a higher one

of this shot. I always see people try-

designed to land soft and is played

ing to help the ball up and hitting

one way to play a shot to a hole, you relax more and hit a better shot. Having only one way to play it creates an ali-

time because the greens are so undulating. They can't go straight at the hole and get it close; therefore, they must use the slopes. This also makes it fun to practice around

from the rough around the greens

behind it. If you hit behind the ball,

the greens.

So, practice your short game and watch your scores come down. It is, without a doubt, the fastest way to shave

or longer grass. I have this type of

the clubhead catches too much

strokes off your game.

shot more than the fairway lies and if

grass and the ball is hit too softly.

I miss greens, it's typically from along

Practice this shot frequently to get a

the sides of the greens in the rough .

feel for it. The ball will land soft and

For this shot, get your sand or lob

roll some, depending on how hard

wedge. We'll use the same setup: ball

you had to hit it. The worse the lie,

back in your stance, hands forward.

the more sharply you have to hit it.

36 VALUERICH MAGAZI NE

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Butch Harmon School of Golf 2651 Grand Hills Dr. Henderson, NV 89052 www.butchharmon.com info@butchharmon.com

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Sweet Swig of Success By: Liza Grant Smith

Peter van Stolk has never followed a traditional path.

As a young adult, he dismissed his father's suggestion that he attend college and opted to remain a ski instructor in Canada . He admits that his stubbornness still kept him from following his father's advice once he realized he didn't have the skills to become a professional skier of note. Instead of going to school , he used the paid summer vacations to start a fruit stand.

After some research, van Stolk discovered that there was virtually no premium fresh-squeezed OJ in the Canadian market. He sold his car and used the funds to make his initial foray into the beverage market.

Following success in the OJ niche, van Stolk began to import other beverages and eventually built the largest independent beverage distributor in western Canada . He grew tired of dealing with the suppliers, however, and longed to create his own brand. He subsequently founded Urban Juice and Soda with two proprietary brands: WAZU Natural Spring Water and Jones Soda, initially launched with si x flavors.

In 2000, Urban Juice officially changed its name to Jones Soda Company (NASDAQ: JSDA). That same year, the Company unleashed cans ofWhoopAss, its own version of an energy drink.

Jones Juice followed, with si x flavors hitting the market in 2001.

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Today, the Jones Soda line includes 21 products, some with tongue -in-cheek flavors such as Strawberry Manilow, D'Peach Mode and Fufu Berry.

Jones Soda is also legendary for introducing irreverent limited-release flavors such as its 2006 Holiday Pack, which featured bottles ofTurkey and Gravy Soda, Sweet Potato Soda , Dinner Roll Soda , Pea Soda , and a seemingly appropriate, bright pink Antacid Flavored Soda .

The somewhat disgusting offbeat flavors have helped Jones garner significant media attention and made consumers take notice.

Van Stolk ignored the traditional operating template for a beverage company and initially employed what he terms an "alternative distribution strategy." The Company placed its own coolers, adorned with 5 0 D signature flames, in surf and snowboarding shops, tattoo parlors, retail music stores and other venues where young customers congregated . This was followed by an "up-and-down-thestreet attack;' with products appearing in food and convenience stores.

Now, Jones Soda can be found in larger chains such as Barnes & Noble, Albertson's and Starbucks. Despite this wider distribution, however, the Company remains focused on a grassroots ma r keting approach .

Wildly decorated Jones RVs on both the East and West coasts travel to cities across America "handing out soda and talking to people on the street:'

Company's Web site (www.jonessoda . com) for possible use as one of the everchanging bottle labels. And, as a result of receiving an overwhelming number of photos, the Company launched www.myjones.com, where individuals can order personalized bottles of Jones soda.

Touting the slogan "Run with the little guy ... create some change," Van Stolk's unusual marketing techniques have ereate d a cult-like following for Jones products. Fans congregate at the Web site to blog, chat, review products, suggest new flavors, enter contests and download free stuff. Some treat the bottles and labels as collectibles, accumulating an assortment, trading them in chat rooms and even selling them on eBay. C His offbeat success at gaining brand loyalty in a marketplace dominated by global soda behemoths has made Peter van Stolk a marketing guru of sorts. He is much in demand as a public speaker for marketing students and practitioners.

In this issue's "Cover Story," van Stolk shares his recipe for inspiring customer loyalty and his belief that traditional marketing approaches, which typically focus on beating the competition, is a waste of time.

ValueRich: You've said before that Jones is not just a soda company.

What is it?

Peter van Stolk: It's a lifestyle brand. A soda company just means that you're a carbonated soft drink or a beverage with sugar and bubbles. I think Jones means more than that. Being the first company to utilize consumer interaction, from their photos to their quotes, and allowing people to

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Keeping up with the Jones From the Company's earliest days, van Stolk has allowed consumers to help dictate the pat h of the products . Jones Soda enthusiasts are encouraged to send in their photos via the www. iVALUERICH .com

embrace the brand gives us the ability to extend outside just the soft drink industry.

VR: There seems to be a prevailing belief that effective marketing requires big advertising budgets and extensive consumer research, using methods such as focus groups. What do you think?

PVS: I think that 's B.S. First of all , that's what people want you to believe because companies make a lot of money when you do all of those things. Secondly, technology and people, who now have alternative choices of entertainment such as television , the Internet, magazines, etc. , have evolved. How can the way we used to do marketing be relevant in a time that has changed so drastically? If it was relevant 20 years ago to do the focus groups and big budgets, then how can it be relevant today? Something's got to give.

It's fair to say that some of the larger players in my arena, who are all brilliantly branded companies, have not been able to successfully introduce a new product. Take POWERade for example. I believe POWERade has less than a 3% percent market share; Gatorade has 95 percent. How can a brand like POWERade, which is Coca-Cola's product, perform so poorly? I'm sure they did a great focus group. I'm sure they hired a great advertising firm . I'm sure they hired the greatest athletes . It doesn't matter. I think the approach has to SPRING/ SUMMER 2007 39

change. My feeling is that it has to be more relevant. It has to create an emotional connection with consumers.

VR: You've developed a virtual community of Jones fans. Was that a conscious objective on your part or was it something that just evolved overtime?

PVS: First and foremost , we are always evolving. If you 're not evolving, you 're dying.

That said , we've always had a fundamental belief that the world doesn't need a soda company. You didn't wake up this morning and say, " You know what, I'm not going to have a great day because I didn't drink any soda." You don 't really care .. . which is cool. But I believe a lot of marketers have this fundamental belief that people care. I, on the other hand, have a fundamental belief that you don't.

If you don't care, then I have to do something to make [the product] relevant to you . A really cool, funky ad may capture your attention, but it still doesn't make you care. The only way I can think of to make you care is allow you to interact with the brand.

If I put your photo of something you love, whatever that may be, on a bottle of Jones Soda, you 'll actually care, because it's your photo, not mine. Our

objective is to create an incredible brand that has an emotional connection with consumers in a positive, fun way.

VR: What's the allure of some of the more distinct (and seemingly less appealing flavors) like Turkey and Gravy Soda and Candy Corn Soda?

PVS: It's us making fun of ourselves.

We look at our role as providing you with a treat. I'm a firm believer that soda is an indulgence. You drink or eat a treat on an occasion that puts a smile on your face. You don't drink and eat one every five seconds. A treat should be fun . And if you're putting out turkey

now are (1) to be really consistent in the quality of our product, (2) to be unpredictable, and (3) to create emotion . That's it.

Recently, I've been looking at all these athlete endorsements. It's really cool that these guys are making all this money, but is that really going to make a difference? I'm going to switch our marketing fund from an athlete endorsement to cause endorsements and take the same amount of money I was going to spend on an athlete and give it to an organization. Why? Because it 's never been done. I'm going to promote them like I promoted an athlete -because I think that's cool.

So you 're going to see us supporting organizations like Vitamin Angel Alliance, who gives out Vitamin A and E capsules to kids in Third World countries to help prevent blindness. I want to see how it works . If it doesn't work, then I'll use the same line that Steve Jobs uses: "Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes."

Hopefully it will work, though . I want to be the beverage company that gets away from seeing Britney Spears on the commercial. Who cares? Who really gives a rat's ass? I want to say "brought to you by Vitamin Angel Alliance and

I want Ia he the beverage company that gets away from seeing Britney Spears an the commercial. Who cares?

40 VALUERICH MAGAZINE

and gravy or pea-flavored soda, people are going to laugh. It's easy to play and get people excited if you don't take yourself seriously.

VR: You've established a reputation for ignoring the "traditional rules" of the industry. What, if any, rules does Jones Soda live by?

PVS: The three rules we have right

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COVER STORY

Jones Soda ." That's sick . No one's ever done that. And when you look at the X Games right now and all those endorsements, I can 't see that people really care anymore. I talk to kids, and it's just noise. When it wasn't noise, it was important . There's a cycle in everything. And if it gets too saturated, back the bus up.

VR: Many companies put a lot of time and money into appearing cool and real. How has Jones Soda achieved these elusive qualities?

PVS: Looking and being are two different things and I think the beverage industry needs to change . I'm really excited about switching to pure sugar.

The Toyota Prius led the way, so now hybrids are real. Look at what Chevrolet and Ford are coming up with now - hybrids. Selling a Prius won 't stop greenhouse gases, but it sets the example that will eventually stop greenhouse gases. If you don't take that mentality, nothing changes.

So Jones Soda is going to be the company that promotes sugar.

If we promote sugar, that changes the game quite a bit . The largest use of corn right now is high fructose corn syrup . If you remove corn syrup and put sugar back in the drinks, then you have a crop that could actually be used for ethanol. Maybe it's my own fantasy, but that's it. To me it sounds good and real , and that 's important.

VR: Are there any flavors that you don't personally like?

PVS: Blue bubblegum. I hate it.

I've tried to kill that flavor for like seven years, but they won 't let me.

People really like it ... l don 't know why. If there is not a daily fight over blue bubblegum ,

something is wrong. One day I'm just going to pull the CEO card and cancel it. But I really like curry and a lot of

what works for me may not work for everyone else . In my case, it was just the way it evolved. If I had a chance to do it again , I probably would have liked to go to school.

However, the benefit from not going to school is that I look at things differently and I listen differently.

These days, people ask me to go to corporations and schools to talk about this, and my suggestion is to go to school. It will teach you the framework. It teaches you the game. But life teaches you how to bend or break the rules to get what you want. If you only follow the rules of business, then you're always going to follow what your competitors do.

I think companies that spend all their time trying to figure out what the other guys are going to do will become really good at following . I will never be Coke or Pepsi in a million years, and I don't really want to.

I think companies that spend all their lime trying to figure out what the other guys are going to do will become really good at following.

www . iVALUERICH . co m

people don't. That's what I always say to myself.

VR: What does your success mean to those who assert the necessity of a business school background and an adherence to marketing fundamentals?

PVS: I want to surround myself with people who have done all of those things and possess those rules and learning skills . As for me, I'm only one of 6.5 billion people on this planet, so

Pepsi is bigger than Coke in a lot of ways. Pepsi is now a better overall beverage company than Coca-Cola.

That 's a fact. If you look at it, Pepsi's brands are Tropicana, which is #1 versus Minute Maid; Gatorade, which is bigger than POWERade; and Aquafina, which is bigger than Coke's Dasani.

The only one where they're less popular is Pepsi versus Coke. Pepsi made the switch when they said they were okay with losing the cola wars. They decided to win everything else. When they took the approach that " We 're not going to play the game any more," they won the game because they changed the game. That 's what I think is really cool.

Companies have to change the game .

I'm always trying to figure out how to change the game.

To my own chagrin, I'm still trying to do that. R

SPRING / SUMMER 2007 41

The loudspeakers at the Chrysler plant crackled on Tuesday, May 15, 2007: "Attention! Attention!

Yesterday was the last day our morning announcements began with 'Achtung! Achtung! ' We are no longer owned by a German company. But that doesn't mean it 's all apple pie either.

Chrysler is now owned by (gulp) a hedge fund, Cerberus Capital Management LP. "The good news is that Cerberus is not your typical vulture fund that just dumps workers and slashes budgets for a quick turnaround . The bad news is, they put their own people in charge, dump employees and slash budgets to run their acquisitions like a conglomerate . So, it looks like management and labor are in this together.

"Forget collective bargaining, it 's now all about ' Saving Our Collective Asses ' (SOCA). That 's why we are announcing a new company-wide 'SOCA Stuff the Suggestion Box Contest.'

There are no prizes. If your suggestion actually saves an executive's ass, you can be sure that executive will be mindful when making decisions about manufacturing jobs.

"That is all."

42 VALUERICH MAGAZIN E

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The suggestions for turning Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep around started rolling in. Here are a few: Go green with Jeep: It 's time to take the initiative with Jeep. What is a Jeep at its core? It is an outdoors vehicle. Jeep's customers want to at least look as if they are nature lovers. So, why not make it the whole experience? Turn Jeep into the first all-electric American brand. It makes

The first combined off-road/green/geek lifestyle

sense. What generates more direct-to-the -wheels torque than an electric motor? We can be the first to bring off-roading and environmentalism together in one product. There are even two ee's in the words Green and Jeep. You know marketing can do something with that.

And let 's drop the dumb copycat Rover lookalike initiative. Jeep styling has basically looked like an electric appliance for years. Hell, the front grill is almost a perfect match fo r an iPod home speaker system . Just go with it. It has integrity. Build on it.

We could partner with Apple and include an AirPort Extreme in every Jeep. Think about it. When your Jeep is in the garage recharging its batteries overnight, it's also downloading and streaming all your favorite TV episodes, movies and songs from iTunes directly to your home entertainment system . Then you take it all with you wherever you go. The first combined off-road/ green/ geek lifestyle device . .. cool! device Join The iValueRich Community

Turn Hemi and Mopar into transmedia trademarks: Really, how much longer do you think we're going to get away with selling 6.2-Liter Hem is? How weird is it that we 're re-releasing the Challenger, to bring back '70s-era gas-guzzling monster cars as gas prices top $3 a gallon?

And please, the name Challenger has taken on a little extra baggage since the '80s. Our clueless designers even had the temerity to label the digital speedometer "Telemetry:' Boy, if there ever was a concept slated to self-destruct on takeoff, this is it.

Duh. It's happened before. Recognize the signs . Muscle cars are dinosaurs again.

What does Hemi really mean , anyway? Does anybody really care that the cylinder heads are hemispherical? No. They just thin k the word means "bad ass:' So, let's convert our Hemi and MoPar trademarks into what they should be: adolescent entertainment brands. Build Hemispace.com, release MP3s, movies, comic books and a reality TV series.

Hemi and MoPar have MoMoney written all over them .

There are already classic Hemi

songs, surf classics like " Hemi Cuda" by Hemi Cuda (that's original) and " Santa Drives a Superstock Dodge" by The Malibooz (no kidding) . All we need to do is add some hip-hop and a Daughtry track and we've got major downloadz!

And Fender is already selling a line of MoPar速 custom Stratocasters.

We could also re-release the 1975 B movie Death Race 2000 , starring Sylvester Stallone and David Carradine.

The movie is about a transcontinental race in the future (OK, we'll change the name to Death Race 3000), where the drivers score points for running over pedestrians. It really is a Darwinian con cept because the race is nationally televised. So, who's dumb enough to be crossing the road while the race is going on?

Anyway, we could digitally add a Hemi logo to Stallone 's machine-gun Joe Viterbo car in the movie, and then put the car into production. Who wouldn't want a cool black car with machine-gun barrels and bayonets sticking out the front? Better than that girlie car Soltice.

Plus, the movie has already spawned several violent video games ... Voila!

Instant transmedia gold !

Do the roadster right: Even after 100 years of American automobile manufacturing, we could still be the first to reach an important automotive milestone : build a decent American roadster.

Take a look at our own feeble past attempts .

www.

iVALUERICH .com

We designed the Copperhead, but built the Crossfire. Please! What about the Viper, you ask? A nice diversion, but we need to make money or we're out on the street.

This would actually be the easiest turnaround project of all. All we have to do is get our new owners to buy Jaguar from Ford. I understand they're motivated to sell .

Ford bought the vaunted Brit car line in 1989 and proceeded to make it dull.

Whenever Jaguar's inner Brit started to show through, the Ford skinflints would pull the plug. We should buy the company just to do one thing .. . resurrect the F car concept. It was lightweight, fast, had pure styling and no fancy high-tech gewgaws. Yeah! Now that's a roadster.

Of course the new Chrysler won 't need to rely entirely on the employee

suggestion box for turnaround ideas.

There's a lot of potential synergy with other Cerberus-owned companies.

For instance, Chrysler makes some of the all-time great rental cars in history, the silver PT Cruiser, the red convertible Sebring, the white Caravan and blue Voyager. Now they can get rid of all the Chevys at Cerberus-owned National and Alamo car rental companies and move some excess Chrysler inventory.

National and Alamo are already probably the biggest buyers of Crossfires.

Formica countertops in Voyager family vans would be nice, too . And hey, maybe Cerberus can leverage its 51 percent stake in GMAC to force another round of zero percent financing .

Good luck, Chrysler. We ' ll be looking for those Hemi and MoPar T-shirts in Albertsons and Mervyns soon. V R SPRING/ SUMMER 2007 43

ACCOMPLISHED Discover how three celebrities became successful entrepreneurs

By Kayla Willson

America's fascination with celebrities has reached almost epic proportions.

We want to look at them, read about them and know everything from who they 're dating to what they 're wearing. We fantasize about what it must be like to start out as a relative unknown and then find stardom, gaining fame , attention and money in the process. And while we assume they have reached their dreams, some celebrities are pursuing new dreams in what appears to be an unlikely direction -entrepreneurial ism .

Way beyond just adding a name or likeness to a product, some celebri ties step into the business arena and concentrate their efforts on their own entrepreneurial ventures. They all have different stories, but one theme rings true throughout: their passion, determination and excitement have hooked them from the ground up and won't let go.

In the past several years, however, the "Red Rocker" has earned another name: "Mr. Cabo Wabo:' As founder and front man of Novato, California - based Cabo Wabo Enterprises, he runs a 200employee business dedicated to premium tequilas and tequila bars. In April 2007, Cabo Wabo announced plans for the opening of its third Cabo Wabo Cantina, in Fresno, which is currently being built . The latest cantina joins two existing locations : the original Cabo Wabo Cantina in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, and the first U.S. location in South Lake Tahoe.

In the early 1980s, Hagar visited a small Mexican fishing village on the tip of the Baja Peninsula and tasted the local blanco tequila for the first time. He

fell in love with the primitive, free-spirited atmosphere of the village and the innocence of its people. The experience changed his life.

"I first went to Cabo San Lucus in 1981, just to vacation . There were three hotels, dirt roads, no electricity most anywhere except in the hotels, certainly no television, no newspapers, no tele phones, and it was awesome. I loved it,"

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Sammy stayed for three weeks and returned the following month. On his next ride into town, he asked the driver to drive him around and told him, "This place is really cool. I'm going to find a piece of property and build myself a little tequila hut down here where I can come and play music with my friends."

"That's truly what I thought," Hagar reminisces about that day.

After returning for his birthday bash in 1982 and again the following year, Hagar saw some condos being con-

structed and bought the only finished model. He then set about looking for property for his club.

It was during his search that the name "Cabo Wabo" originated.

"There was a drunk guy out one Sunday morning when I was going to breakfast," recalls Hagar. "He was walking down this dirt road and bumping into a barbed wire fence, wobbling and bouncing back out into the middle of the street. It was a small road and I couldn't get around him. I called him a nasty name and then said, 'Look,

he's doing the cabo wabo .' He started laughing and we all started laughing. I used that phrase a couple oftimes, and people laughed, and I said, hey, that's a pretty cool thing. So I wrote a song [that included] the words cabo wabo and recorded it on the next Van Halen record .''

After Hagar built his Cabo Wabo Cantina, roads were paved around the club, but the town was still just a tiny fishing village. Many doubted that the cantina would last. His business manager quit and most of his band and friends thought the cantina would only lose money. A group of band members came together as partners , however, and invested approximately $700,000 .

For the first five years they did indeed lose money.

But Hagar didn't give up. He hired a new manager. Cabo started to gain a reputation as a tourist destination.

New roads, new hotels and more people started coming to the town, and to the cantina . Hagar invited rockers such as lggy Pop, U2 and Guns N' Roses to come down and do gigs that packed the house.

Hagar had turned the cantina into a

Sammy talks about his tequila ...

CABOWABO

CABO UNO Anyone who drinks tequila and wants to go smoke a cigar in some stuffy atmosphere in a suit and tie with a bunch of men sitting around a table ... I'm OK with that. You can put Cabo Wabo in that setting and it works . But my theory is, after you have about three shots, you 're going to rip your tie off, pull your jacket off and say, "Hey, let's go to a strip bar and have some fun! " It's a party drink, even though it's been raised to the next level. You gotta be casual and ready to have a bla st!

Alii tell my chemists and people at the distillery is "You just make the finest tequila you can make no matter what it takes . When you pick the agaves, don't even pick one that 's scrawny:' Everything is so hand-done ... and they're going, "You could make twice as much money if you put some conveyer belts in here and got a machine that could go out and do this." No, no, no, that 's how you miss! That's how the dirt gets in with the product. Trim that baby up clean as a whi stle, man. And it goes in that oven by hand and if there's one that's got worms in it, they see it, becau se they 're doing it by hand- they throw it right out. A machine will throw it in there with the rest of them. That's the difference with Cabo Wabo- when it comes out the other end, it's cooked perfectly. And if not, they throw it back in the oven.

Cabo Uno was beyond that. I said to the chemist, "If I told you, take every penny we've got and make one bottle of the finest tequila in the world, how would you do it?"

Th e chemi st is going, "Well , probably trim the agaves a bit better, take a finer cut off the first juice that comes out, don't use the first juice, don't use the last juice, I'd take it out of the middle, and I'd get these certain kind of oak barrels that are really expensive, and I'd age it until it wa s ready. Keep tasting i t - only when it's ready you take it out. No time limit:' You don't get it out to get some ca sh flow- we don't do it that way. When it came out of the barrel at 38 months, everyone shouted, "It's the one! It's the one! It's the one! " And I said, "Cabo Uno. There it is!" w ww. iVALUERICH .co m

SPRING/ SUMMER 2007 45

great little re staurant and hot spot. But then, in 1996, he decided he also wanted to produce his own premium tequila for the bar. He linked with a small familyowned Mexican tequila maker, in operation since 1937.

"I went around tasting all these bou tique tequilas because I wa s looking for someone to make me the world 's best tequila that I could call 'Cabo Wabo' to only serve at my club . .. just for my friends, at my house .. . my big ego trip;' he says .

Since that day, Hagar has been inti mately involved in setting the standards of quality with all his tequilas. " Most people hadn't tasted premium tequila made from 100 percent agave back then . Now the word is out .. . the f astest-growing spirit out there right now

is premium tequila:' Today, Cabo Wabo comes in four different styles: Reposado, Blanco, Anejo and the recently released Cabo Uno, reputed to be among the finest tequilas made today. Cabo Wabo has won top competitive tasting awards and recently received a double gold medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition .

When asked if he ever planned to open restaurants or develop fine tequilas, Hagar says, "The place inspired all of this out of me. I didn't go there as a businessman. I didn't go there looking for any ventures . I had nothing on my mind the fi rst time I went there, except for a vacation .

"You never know the potential of an idea when it first happens. You gotta be willing to get behind it. If you don't

have 100 percent conviction, someone will talk you out of it. Most people w ill say, 'That will never work: " The day before the ValueRich interview, Hagar signed a deal to partner with Gruppo Cam pari, one of the largest liquor distributors in the world .

Under the agreement, Campari owns 80 percent of the brand, but Hagar will still remain closely involved with quality guidelines and marketing. Campari disclosed that they paid $80 million for their share of the company.

In January 2008, Campari will take Cabo Uno worldwide . And Sammy is flying high .

Catch Hagar on tour in the fall with his band The Wabos, or check out his Cabo Wabo cantinas and tequila at: www.cabowabo.com

From M*A*S*H into C*A*S*H

viewers now see Rogers as a regular commentator for Fox News Channel 's business shows, including its top-rated weekly Saturday morning program

business manager. Other friends lost fortunes to bad investments or lavish lifestyles . Rogers vowed not to walk down that path .

"I was determined early on that I was not going to be the victim of that and if I was going to fail , I wanted to be the author of my own demise," he says . "I didn't want to have to go around blaming someone else . So that's how I got into it.

"The object of a business adviser or manager who deals with high -profile actors, entertainers, music people, athletes is not to make money, but to preserve the money that has already been made in their profession. A lot of them lose sight of that and they end up getting into all kinds of wild deal s."

Rogers adds, "Today, particularly in the case of athletes, your earning period is a fairly sho rt one in comparison to other people who build a career over a long period of time. You have these ups and downs. In the ups, you 're earning a lot of money. In th e down s, you 're essentially not earning. To invest that money appropriately, you need professional help. Even certain CEOs, who don't have the time to pay attention to their own personal investments, probably need the same kind of help."

Rogers loves the excitement of the investing game and is quick to admit that he doesn 't really care what the business is. He looks at assets and cash

Wayne Rogers, best known for playing surgeon "Trapper John" Mcintyre on the '70s hit television show M*A*S*H, has been playing a very different role in real life: that of a successful and influential entrepreneur and financier. Television

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So, how did Rogers go from actor to investment guru? While he was acting back in the '70s, he watched longtime friend Peter Falk lose money because of a crooked

Wayne Rogers 46 VALUERICH MAGAZINE

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flow and does a model to see if the business will effectively carry itself over a period of time. Rogers is an investor in the Oakland Athletic Baseball team, but clarifies that he's in it to make money, not for a love of baseball. He feels they bought it at the right price and has plans to help grow the team.

He loves to buy companies that are distressed, fi x them up, and turn them around . He explains that you 've got to do due diligence, but it could be a relatively easy fi x. "I f the mistake is an obvi-

ous one and if they had done X instead ofY, all you have to do is restructu re the financial statement, and then you're off and running," Rogers explains . " By and large, it comes down to management.

If the management has made a mistake, then they need to be replaced. " I like companies that are in the backwater, ones that people don't pay attention to, that are dull and unexciting . Companies that make spoons, or tables, light bulbs, or even toilet seats, something that you have to have, that is

fairly mundane," he laughingly adds.

But Rogers' business life is anything but mundane. He's presently one of the final bidders in the purchase of 700 acres of property at the old Panama City, Florida, airport, an investment of more than $50 million . A self-taught business guru, Rogers is convinced that investing is not rocket science.

"Look, if something costs X and you sell it for 2X, you don 't have to go to Harvard Business School to learn the difference between profit and loss! "

From model to role model

highest-grossing lifestyle designers in the world by studying her market and then designing products that addressed specific needs. The mission statement of KIWW, "finding solutions for families, especially busy moms," is what Ireland is all about.

Today, Ireland, an avid speaker on women 's issues , has become a role

model for working moms, whom she describes as all moms, and has even established a national mentoring program to help teenage mothers . She lives her passion every day, infusing her strong personal beliefs and values into a business empire that has become much more than just a platform for selling products. VR

Focused, passionate and spiritual.

These words have been used to describe Kathy Ireland, who went from gracing the cover of Sports Illustrated as a bikini babe in 1989 to becoming CEO and chief designe r of Kathy Ireland Worldwide (KIWW), a billion-dollar brand product marketing company. Starting with a line of fashion-designed socks, Kathy Ireland has become a guru and leader of the lifestyle design business, which has achieved success in more than a dozen product areas.

Ireland was never passionate about modeling, but it did enable her to save capital to start a business, something she had always aspired to . Ireland believed the fashion industry was not relevant to most buyers. She started small by designing and manufacturing a very basic product- women's socks.

She figured that if the socks took off, then she could be successful. Others didn't share her optimism.

Despite facing closed doors, she moved forward with an unwavering determination . That perseverance led to the sale of over 100 million pairs of socks and to tremendous success in other lifestyle niches. KIWW now offers furniture, which accounts for almost half a billion dollars in annual sales, lighting (a leading brand for Lamps Plus), flooring, kitchenware, carpeting , bedding, tableware, watches and apparel.

In addition to reaching a sales mark of nearly $1.5 billion with privately held KKWW, Ireland designs jewelry for her friend Dame Elizabeth Taylor's House of Taylor Jewelry (NASDAQ: HOTJ).

Kathy Ireland has become one of the

Kathy Ireland www .iVALUERICH .com

SPRING/ SUMMER 2007 47

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I Winvian Imagine spending the night 155 Alain White Road in a restored 1968 Sikorsky Morris, CT 06763 HH37 Sea King Pelican heliTel : 860-567-9600 copter complete with aerowww.winvian .com space dashboard and a comApprox. distance from fortably appointed fuselage .

Manhattan: 103 miles That's exactly what you can do at the new Winvian resort in Litchfield County, Connecticut. The Winvian opened quietly on November 15, 2006, and officially on January 1, 2007.

Winvian is named after owners Winthrop and Vivian Smith , who bought the 113-acre property in 1948. Daughter Heather and son Winthrop Jr. inherited the property and have turned it into a playground for those seeking a night of adventure.

Each of its 18 "c ottages," and the one suite in the main house, are uniquely themed architectural marvels designed by 15 architects focusing on a Connecticut theme. Guests can www. iVALUERICH .com

stay in the 35-foot high, suspended Treehouse, complete with whirlpool bathtub, steam shower, two fireplaces and heated floor. The interior of the CT Yankee Cottage is based on Mark Twain 's book A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, offering a medieval design. Other themes include a Camping Cottage, Charter Oak and a Beaver Lodge.

A stay in one of the cottages, which starts at $1,450 per night, includes all meals, carte blanche at the property 's bars and a fully stocked in-room wet bar. The sumptuous Winvian spa offers a host of treatments and fitness activities . The restored colonial main building houses the main dining room, a well-stocked wine cellar and even an art gallery. The 4,000acre White Memorial Foundation natural reserve surrounds the property, offering a perfect arena for a leisurely stroll or energetic hiking and biking.

The entire property is available for $32,000 per night. Too bad they won't let you live there.

SPRING/ SUMMER 2007 5 I

I Twin Farms Once the home of Nobel P.O. Box 115 Prize-winning novelist Sinclair Barnard, VT 05301 Lewis and his journalist wife, Tel: 802-234-9990 Dorothy Thompson, Twin Farms www.twinfarms.com offers you the tranquility that it Approx. distance from surely must have provided the Manhattan: 274 miles controversial and often embattled writer.

Originally purchased as two farmhouses on 300 acres, the Twin Farms compound now consists of the main inn with four guest rooms and a variety of lavishly decorated secluded cottages, each complete with fireplace. The wooded New England setting with apple trees is simply as serene as it gets. This remarkably romantic getaway is well worth the five-hour trip lfrom New York City to Barnard, Vermont.

Twin Farms recently added its 16th private "cottage" home, The Aviary, a two-story structure in the woods with sunken natural granite tub strategically placed in front of an enormous field stone fireplace. Another themed cottage, The Log Cabin, offers a unique dog theme (although pets are not allowed at the property, nor are children under 18) and is one of the most private cottages.

While some guests opt for private meals alone in their rooms, most visit the main dining room, where superbly presented entrees round out the experience. ChefTed Ask specializes in the creative application of regional ingredients, with vegetables and herbs from the property's own organic gardens. And with a bit of notice, he will prepare any meal you wish, with astonishing results.

As an alternative to lunch in the main dining room, guests may request a lobster picnic to take aboard a canoe on the lake or with them on a hike in the tranquil Barnard hills. Comfort and informality abound here. Jackets and ties are not required - or even requested, for that matter.

A visit to this paradise found is definitely worth the detour.

52 VALUERICH MAGAZIN E

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I Wheatleigh If you are looking for an Hawthorne Road idyllic holiday in a sensational Lenox, MA 01240 ltalianate villa, then you need P: 413-637-0610 look no further than Wheatleigh, www.wheatleigh .com in the Berkshires. This private Approx. distance from villa was constructed in 1893 by Manhattan: 157 miles railroad and real estate tycoon Henry H. Cook for his daughter as a wedding gift when she married Count Carlos de Heredia.

Today, the landmark property has been transformed into a grand retreat with grace and charm that will take you back in time to 16th century Tuscany. Wheatleigh offers a unique combination of lu x ury and complete privacy with 19 guest rooms nestled on 22 acres- just a short walk to Tanglewood, the summer playground of the Boston Pops. All rooms here are exquisite and offer meticulous details, including fireplaces, museum-qua lity art, sitting areas and large bathrooms with www. iVALUERICH . com

high ceilings. The outdoor heated pool, tennis court and bocce field are added bonuses.

For dinner you can choose from the award-winning restaurant 's formal prix fixe menu of French cuisine served in the main dining room or order a Ia carte in the more casual adjacent library. The gracious European staff is always nearby to ensure that your every need is met, whether you wish for an in-room massage or merely a pitcher of lemonade to enjoy on your private terrace. They consider every detail, including remembering your name.

Enjoying the stylish Wheatleigh's old-world charm doesn't mean that you have to sacrifice modern amenities. It is the first hotel in the United States to offer the new Bang & Olufsen BeoVision 7 flat screen TV in all suites, junior suites and deluxe rooms.

Your only complaint will be that you didn't stay longer.

SPRING/ SUMMER 2007 53

The

I Point Glamorous urbanP.O. Box 1327 ites come to The Point on Saranac Lake, NY 12983 Saranac Lake for unbridled Tel : 518-891 -5674 pampering and uncommon www.thepointresort.com luxury at one of New York's Approx. distance from most enchanting properManhattan: 311 miles ties . Originally known in the late 1800s as Camp Wonundra, this five-star Mobile, Relais & Chateaux resort was once the private estate of William Avery Rockefeller. Today, guests are intox icated by the warmth and beauty of the former hunting lodge set in the natural Adirondack surroundings. The rustic lodge makes you feel as if you have just entered a sophisticated private country home.

Four buildings of understated elegance house 11 lakeview guest rooms where all-inclusive rates offer guests carte blanche use of equipment, meals, facilities, afternoon tea, and 24-hour 54 VALUERICH MAGAZINE

help-yourself bars . Dinner is enjoyed family-style with other guests, where the host encourages social conversation .

If you want to feel like a guest of the Rockefellers, request a stay in Weatherwatch, which was built to house their visiting friends and family. The architecture in each ofThe Point's rooms incorporates natural elements such as stone and pine, providing a rustic yet cozy atmosphere.

The pet-friendly property offers everything from sea kayaks, canoes, small outboards and a wind surfer to a sailboat, as well as a 33-foot classic mahogany Hackercraft and a 32-foot ELCO electric launch. Lunch is prepared for you to enjoy on the lake upon your request. Come back after a day on the water to rela x in front of the fire before dinner and then retreat to your own personal hideaway in timeless elegance.

Return to the City in a relaxed state of mind after your once in a lifetime experience at The Point.

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Oral representations cannot be re lied upon as correctly stating the rep resen t ations of the developer. For correct representations, make reference to documents required by section 718 .503, Florida St atutes, to be furnished by the developer to a buyer or lessee. Not an offer where prohib ited by st ate statu t es . This advertisement is not an offering. No offering can be made unt il an offering plan is fi led with the Department o f Law of the State of New York . This advertisement Is made pursuant to Coope rative Polley Stat ement No . 1 issued by t he New York State Attorney General File Number CP06-0160. @

very year, as spri ng winds down, things in Hollywood begin to heat up and most of the nation's major entertainment magazines run their annual list of upcoming movies poised to become "summer blockbusters." Whether due to their lead actors, big budgets or surrounding buzz, these films are pre dicted to generate the highest revenue by filling the most seats. That gave us an idea . While our knowledge of pop culture trivia may be impressive at cocktail parties, we are far from experts in the entertainment realm . Most likely, you don't read Va/ueRich to learn what Jennifer Aniston has been up to. (If you do, you must be consistently disappointed .) What we do know and are expert in is the small-cap world. With that in mind, we decided to generate our own (first annual) list of Small-cap Summer Blockbusters . Rather than make predictions, though, we focused on five companies that are already, for lack of a better phrase, kicking butt in five different significant areas. This should not be interpreted as investment advice, since we are not investment professionals and investments obviously should not be made based on a single category. Our goal is to highlight how each company has succeeded in a particular area, not only to laud their success, but also to enable others to glean something from their means of achievement.

No awards or elaborate presentation ceremonies are associated with selection, just the notoriety of appearing in the following pages and the inherent satisfaction of a job well done. So, without any further ado or fanfare, here are this year 's ValueRich Small-cap Summer Blockbusters:

CATEGORY

WINNER

Catching the Eye of Analysts

Cynosure, Inc. (NASDAQ: CYNO)

Stock Price Climber

Simulations Plus, Inc. (AMEX: SLP)

Impressive IPO

BioMimetic Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: BMTI)

Building a Product Following

International Fight League, Inc. (OTCBB: IFLI)

Green Leader

Trex Company, Inc. (NYSE: TWP)

58 VALUERICH MAGAZINE

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n.Business

Beauty and it1 leholdetl Cynosure, Inc. (NASDAQ: CYNO) Business description: Cynosure, Inc., develops and markets aesthetic treatment systems used by physicians and other practitioners to perform non -i nvasive and m i nimally invasive procedures to remove hair, treat vascular lesions, rejuvenate skin through the treatment of shallow vascular and pigmented lesions, remove fat through laser lipolysis, and temporarily reduce the appearance of cellulite.

The Affirm AntiAging Workstation Photo: Nikolay Okhitin- FOTOLIA

What's the point in looking good if no one looks at you? That's the issue many small-caps struggle with as they seek market exposure and an audience for their company's accomplishments and innovations. After all, with so many small-cap companies all vying for attention , Wall Street recognition can be tough to come by. One of the quickest ways to perk up the ears of Wall Street is through analyst coverage.

Michael Davin, President and CEO of Cynosure, Inc., knows this from firsthand experience.

"Analyst coverage is a very important aspect of Cynosure's business. It creates visibility not only with current investors but potentia l ones as well," says Davin. " Having high visibility means we are viewed as a serious player in the space by a very influential audience."

Since going public in December 2005, the Company has been covered by a list of notable research firms including WR Hambrecht, Maxim, Citigroup, Jefferies & Co. and Needham & Co., which all, at one point, have given the Company a " buy " rating . Davin attributes a bulk of this attention to the Company's story.

"As with any good story, people want to be excited and inspired , and investors and analysts are no less susceptible to this fact than any of us," he says.

"The aesthetics industry is exciting and glamorous, and when combined with www . iVALUERICH .com

innovative technology like our lasers, it makes for a true blockbuster hit. As a proof point, Cynosure's shareholder value has grown over 100 percent since the launch of our IPO." The Company has also sought to distinguish itself through differentiation.

"Cynosure is different from any other company in the space due to our wide range of light-ba sed technology platforms to address virtually any cosmetic treatment. We're also seeing many of our competitors experiencing anemic returns due to poor product pipelines and the inability to innovate. This is hurting their long-term performance, and we work tirelessly to address this area to the benefit of not only our customers but [also] our investors."

Having the eyes of analysts upon you, however, does come with added responsibility.

"The inherent challenges of having broad analyst exposure are time and consistency," ex plains Davin. " What this means for myself as CEO and for our CFO is that we must be available to address analyst requests for information, since we need to take a proactive role in helping them set the correct expectations for corporate performance. Doing thi s also helps u s achieve consistency with what we're publicly disclosing to adhere to strict regulatory compliance guidelines."

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Just how important is what the analysts say? According to Davin, very.

"Any diligent company must pay close attention to what the analyst community is saying about the organization.

The executive leadership team has the respon sibility of an active fiduciary to ensure that analysts are providing the correct projection s and model s to th e Street. To ignore this is a perilous road , and one that can wreak havoc on the business if not addressed in the appropriate manner:' Sometimes they even provide inspiration.

"With analyst opinion having its relative impact on shareholder value, Cynosure is, of course, very much in tune with what they have to say and strives for ways to incorporate their recommendations into our business." www.cynosure.com SPRING/ SUMMER 2007 59

Onward &Upward

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You like me, you really like me. In a perfect world, a company 's stock price would always be an accurate reflection of its inherent value . In our practical world , it 's more simply a barometer of the public market 's opinion . While undervaluation is not uncommon and there are certain factors impacting stock price that companies have little control over, it's hard for public company executives not to worry about fluctuations in price.

Walt Wolto sz, CEO of Simulations Plus, Inc., readily admits that he used to be one of those people.

"When we did our IPO in 1997, I used to get upset whenever the price went down by ten cents a share," he says .

"Aher a while, you learn to almost ignore it and focus on running the business. I think we've learned that if we put our resources into making what we offer the best in the business, and then adding tangentially to our offerings through both acquisitions and in-house developments, the numbers will be what the market wants to see, and the stock price will follow."

The Company must be doing some thing right . Si x months ago, SLP stock was trading near $3 . On May 18, it closed at $1 2.48 . Woltosz has his own 60 VALUERICH MAGAZINE

ideas as to the reason. " I believe the market

ment is not what actu -

ally happens. And that goes both ways. In has stopped looking at other words, sometimes our trailing 1 2-months the stock goes down on numbers and is now prowhat I consider to be jecting ahead 12 months good news, and someor more," he says . "Our times it goes up more demonstrated growth and than I expected because profitability are clearly the I've learned to be a bit dominant factors. I think pessimistic:' there is finally a strong Rather than worrying pharmaceutical industry push toward increased Simulations Plus, Inc. CEO about the stock price, use of simulation and WaltWoltosz he expends his energy on Company fundamentals. modeling. This is probably affecting " We've been successful because those few investors who really underof our basic approach to what we do. stand our business. But I suspect most And that is basically the 'Built to Last ' are not into the science enough to philosophy- advance the science of appreciate the real value of what we do, what we do, but always with an eye on and they're looking only at the numbers the business side of things . One of the and charts:' The Company also boasts a proven more difficult things over the years has history. been to get scientists and engineers to "I'd say we grew up lean and mean, realize that businesses are successful by as the saying goes. We did a very small producing products that are 'adequate, IPO ten years ago, and after we paid off not perfect : What does that mean? It all the costs and our bridge loans, we does not mean compromising on anyhad only $2.5 million left. We have not thing that is essential to providing a raised any additional capital since then . useful , competitive product. It means In addition, we built upon our subsidthat you don't waste resources chasing iary that we had run for 15 years on perfection . A simulation that predicts our own cash flow. So we learned to be a certain result within, say, 10 percent critical about adding costs, and to avoid is completely adequate in this industry. extravagance. I believe we manage our You can't get to 5 percent, so instead resources very well:' of trying to do that, you accept the 10 At the end of the day, though , percent and move on to adding some Woltosz believes he has little to no conadditional functionality. If you wait until trol over the stock price. you squeeze out a 5 percent accuracy, "If there's anything I've learned over your competitors will own the market the years, it's that most of the time what by then."

I expect to happen after an announcewww.simulations-plus.com Join The iValueRich Community

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Who's going to stick around once the initial fanfare dies down? Going public is a time - and labor-intensive process, but there is little time for a smallcap to put its feet up once its stock is officially trading on an exchange. Sure, you had friends at your debut, but maintaining a solid stock depends on continuing to generate interest and attracting long -term investors.

For BioMimetic Therapeutics, a lack of "friends " has never been an issue. On May 1 1, 2006, the date of BioMimetic 's IPO, the stock closed at $8.25 per share.

A year later it is trading around $18, generating an aftermarket return in excess of 118 percent.

Dr. Sam Lynch, Founder and President of BioMimet ic Therapeutics, attributes the appreciation in value to two major factors.

"First and foremost, we have executed on all the commitments we made during the IPO. We are right on target with our product development plans for the big market opportunities in orthopedics and, in fact, have just recently initiated our pivotal clinical trials, which is the final clinical trial before FDA approval.

I think investors have appreciated that we 're very straightforward and didn't over-promise and under-deliver;' Lynch says. "Se condly, we've had some very strong data fro m our initial clinical triwww.

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Despite the scientific nature of the Company, Lynch asserts that what it does is relatively easy for most people to appreciate and grasp.

"Say you cut yourself peeling carrots or you get a broken bone, have you ever wondered (1) how does the body know there is an injury and (2) what then stimulates the healing process to occur? These were the two fundamental questions I started asking 20 years ago when I was at Harvard doing some of the original research in the area. What we discovered is that there is a very potent protein or molecule that is found in the blood clot. So whenever you cut yourself, you have a clot that forms .

When that clot fo rms, it releases at that precise site of injury a very potent molecule called a protein that tells the body that there 's an injury there and stimulates the whole cascade of healing to begin. So what we did, along with other research groups, is isolate the gene, the piece of the DNA responsible for making that protein . We put that gene into yeast and grow the yeast in big vats to produce large quantities of the protein, which can then be purified into a highly concentrated medication. That is then combined with a matri x that provides a foundation for the tissue to grow. So basically, all we're doing is stimulating and enhancing the natural healing process . That simple message set s us apart

Founder and President Dr. Sam Lynch

from other companies and technologies that are perceived to be somewhat more esoteric:' To solidify the Company's financial foundation, BioMimetic completed a secondary offering in February.

"We've been told it was one of the most successful secondary offerings, at least in the whole life sciences sector, in recent memory. Our stock appreciated 20 percent from the time we filed to the time we closed. We upsized the transaction as much as the SEC would allow us during the course of the offering and then priced without any real discount.

The green shoe, or over-allotment, was also exercised. Even with all that, we were four to five times oversubscribed .

It brought in about $40 million in net cash, so we're in a very strong cash position now to execute on all our clinical programs." www.biomimetics.com

SPRING/ SUMMER 2007 61

ranlallic rollowing International Fight LeaguerM, Inc. (OTCBB: IFLI) Business description: International Fight League (IFL) is the world's number one professional mixed martial arts sports league.

If you lead, we will follow.

In 2006 , Gareb Shamus co-founded (with Kurt Otto) the International Fight Club . Despite the fact that a similar concept, the popular Ultimate Fighting Championship, already existed, Shamus turned the IFL into a ratings powerhouse w ith a huge fan base in terms of both actual event attendance and television viewership. In the first three weeks IFL Battleground aired on MyNetworkTV, there was a 60 percent increase in overall audience size over MyNetworkTV February sweeps prior program numbers, including a 250 percent increase in the key demographic of males 18-49.

On FSN, IFL's weekly Friday night matchups brought a 24 percent increase in the 11 p.m. w indow from other programming that has held that time slot in the first quarter of 2006 and a 41 percent increase in men 18-34.

Shamus attributes the amazing following to several reasons. " First and foremost, in order for anything to be successful, it has to be something of quality that people really want;' he says. "Fortunately, we 've been able to get the biggest brand name coaches out there and put together some of the best athletes in the world . The other big part of that is ultimately its exploitation . Because we've been able to provide it in a free format on television, a lot of people have been able to try and sample our product, not necessarily just the ones who have been to the event.

Major mass markets can flip on the TV, be able to watch our show and watch 62 VALUERICH MAGAZIN E

and face, so our fights are just not that bloody at all. What that does is open up the opportunity to be avai labl e in more of a mass market. That's why we've been able to get prime-time network deals on MyNetwork in front of 100 million homes; we've been able to adjust the rules in such a way that you can have as much, if not more, action in a more

Founder and CEO Gareb Shamus

what we do:' From a marketing perspective, Shamus recognized that it was critical to differentiate the IFL from competitive offerings and position it so it would gain maximize exposure and interest.

"Typically, the fight business is a oneon-one business. What we've been able to do is add a whole team dimension to the fight busine ss. Because a lot of these guys live, eat, breathe and train together, we've been able to package the IFL in such a way that it's not just one-on-one. We also offer a full schedule of fighting , so you know exactly who's going to fight who and when."

He continues, "From a visual standpoint, the fights are just more exciting to watch. Because they 're in a ring, there are fewer barriers to actually viewing the fight both in a live event and on television. The other thing was we eliminated elbow strikes to the head

visually pleasing setting:' Shamus also recognizes the instantgratification nature of his target male 18-34 market. IFL fights are in three fourminute rounds, so the ma xi mum fight length is 12 minutes. Viewers don't have to wait a long time to get the results.

What's next?

"Having guys that are very well recognized increases our exposure for sponsorsh ip opportunities, media tie-ins and lots of great ways to really exploit w hat we've been able to do.

"We also have a product that is global in nature. You can have two people watching it from two different countries who don't speak the same language and they'll both know what's going on in the ring . So, we did a big deal for all of our international TV rights and are now out there working around the globe to get the IFL on TV worldwide. As part of our Fo x deal, we're setting up a j oint-ven ture company to exploit our digital rights. You have a company who owns some of the largest properties on the Web working with us to exploit our digital and mobile rights. That's going to be incredible for us:' www.ifl.tv Join The iValueRich Community

Green i1 Good

Trex Company, Inc. (NYSE:TWPl Business description: Trex Company is the nation's largest manufacturer of composite decking, railing and fencing, with over 15 years of product experience. Made f rom a unique formulation of reclaimed wood and plastic, combined through a proprietary process, Trex decking, railing and fencing offer significant design fle xibility with fewer maintenance requirements than wood.

What you get from giving back.

Long before going green became a " hot " strategic initiative, Tre x was selling products made from throwaway items. The Company's raw materials are 99 percent recycled plastic and recycled wood. In fact , Management estimates that Tre x receives about 50 percent of the recycled grocery bags available on the market. This, combined with their benign and environmental ly friendly manufacturing processes, has enabled the Company to once again make CRO magazine's 100 Best Corporate Citizens in 2007 .

However, Trex 's Chairman and CEO, Anthony Cavanna, is careful to point out that being gree n has never superseded inherent product value. " The first selling premise of our product is that the product performs as advertised and performs better than what it's substituting for, namely wood, from a standpoint of longevity and very low maintenance. That 's the starting point. Make a product that people want www. iVALUERICH .com

to buy. It has a value and they 're willing to pay for it. Then we use environmentally friendly materials to manufacture that product."

The combination of performance and environmental friendliness has proved a w inning combination for the Company. Over one million homeowners across Trex Chairman and CEO, the country own a Trex Anthony Cavanna deck, and revenues reached $337 million in 2006 .

And while product demand has always been strong, Cavanna notes that he ha s witnessed a shift in consumer demand in recent years.

"Today, because of the emphasis on the environment, I think the focus on being green and being environmentally friendly is taking a higher position in the decision process. People are looking for alternative green products to satisfy their need s.

"We sell a lot of products not only to the homeowner but also to municipalities for boardwalks and park areas.

And after they choose to buy the product and choose it for the right reasons, these municipalities make it known that they have chosen environmentally friendly products:' He again cautions, " When you get down to it, though , the product still has to perform ."

Trex ' s history of performance gives the Company an advantage over companies that , hoping to capitalize on its growing popularity, may be new entrants to the green market. " We have a track record of 11 years in which we've been providing green - based products that have performed over that period of time. So, we have the credibility of performance and we have the credibility of a brand identity. Our Trex brand is a very well-known brand . When people are looking for decking or wa lkways or boat docks or whatever, and in today's environment when they're looking for something green , it's not unusual that they 'd be looking at Trex first:' Green or not, Cavanna asserts that what makes Tre x an attractive investment is the same as any other good investment you would make on Wall Street: growth, profitability and poten tial return on investment. That said, the Company does get attention from the growing number of mutual funds focusing on green products and services.

From Cavanna's perspective, Trex 's business strategy has been a win-win .

"It is not only good for the environ ment, it's also good for us from an eco nomic standpoint:' www.trex.com V R SPRING/ SUMMER 2007 63

Tasting Notes

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Fruit infusion was only the first phase of the vodka revolution. Take a look at these new innovations that have recently hit the market.

Swan's

26000

Vodka ASip of the Ice Age Warren Bermingham, creator of this premium handcrafted New Zealand grain vodka, is a big proponent of the theory that the quality of the water dictates the quality of the vodka. With 26000 Vodka , he takes the concept of pristine wate r to a w hole new level by utilizing water from an ice age glacier reservoir discovered in the Ta sman region of the South Island of New Zealand. The 260-centuries路 old pristine paleowater, the authen路 ticity of which was confirmed by the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Science, is said to give 26000 its smoot hness. Previously, Bermingham spent time studying vodka production in its birthpla ce.

Poland, and was General Manager of London's Revolution Vodka Bars. a renowned bar chain that special路 izes in branded and flavored vodka.

Now, he offers his 26000 Vodka in three infusions: Crystalline, organic Ra sp berry & Lemon Drop, and Lych ee. While Crystalline's taste is billed as being "as smooth as fresh air," the other varieties offer more complexity. The flavor combination of lychee, blossoms and peach in Lychee provides a hint of the Orient.

Meanwhile, Raspberry & Lemon Drop strives to capture the essence of summer, w ith raspberry up front and a refreshing lemon bite on the back end.

End Note: Each bottle features a timeline illustrating the

Neck

Vodka Vine-tastic The distinction of this limited-release vodka comes from the uncommon materials used to create it. While most vodkas are produced from potatoes and grain , Swan's Neck Vodka starts with grapes grown in French vineyards. Napa Valley winemaker Bernard Portet, who co-founded Clo s DuVal wi nery in 1972, created this elegant unaged spirit, which has been sai d to be something of a cross between cognac (distilled from wine but aged in oak) and grappa (distilled from fermented grape-crush remnants instead of wine, but not aged ).

The manufacturing process is al so unique. Grapes are made into wine, which is first column distilled , and then twice again distilled by using French traditional copper alembic pot stills, which are said to open up and relea se the grape aromatics and flavor essences while softening the liquid spirits. The result is a very silky and fragrant spirit. With its aroma of freshly fermented grapes, the Swan's Neck Original Vodka's palate is velvety, balanced and elegant, with great finesses and a hint of chocolate flavors. For a more refre shing sip, the Swan's Neck Lemon Zest Vodka offers a nice, round and great finesse in its palate.

End Note: The name Swan's Neck is a translation of the French phrase "col de cygnet," which refers to the curved portion of the alembic's copper piping that carries distillate vapors away from the onion-shaped kettle top.

product 's journey from raw resource to premium product. www.swansneckvodka.com www.26000vodka.com 64 VALUERICH MAGAZIN E

Join The iValueRich Community

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Vodka 0 2 Effervescent Appeal

Tonic water is so five minutes ago. With the introduction of Vodka 0 2, no w th ere 's no need to sacrifice purity to gain a little fizz . After nearly two years in development, M I CRO

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fruit, t o gether w ith an underpinning of sa ke.

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ronment (sake ) and the beautiful and unique outcome (WOKKA SAKi)." www.wokkasaki.com www . iVALUERICH .com

SPRING / SUMMER 2007 65

Ayuda Funding redefines those factoring truths previously held to be selfevident.

By: Liza Grant Smith

Early on the first day of the ValueRich Small-cap Expo in Miami , Manny Bello saw a familiar, yet an xious, face approaching . The face belonged to a small-cap client with whom Ayuda Funding , Bello 's Ne w Jer sey-based asset-backed lending institution, had done a number of transactions si x months earlier. He quickly learned that the client had traveled four and a half hours specifically to meet with Ayuda , with an urgent financing request that needed to be closed and funded by the following morning . Bello pulled one of hi s top representatives off the Expo floor to accompany the client upstairs to a makeshift office, Bello's room at the Intercontinental Hotel. Within two hours, they had hammered out the collateral, terms and other details of the deal and delivered a commitment. The wire tran sfer wa s executed, as promi sed, the next morning.

Given that the Firm 's name, Ayuda, means "to help" in Spani sh, this level of service is apropos. The nomenclature is no accident . Bello founded Ayuda Funding with customer service as a distinguishing cornerstone.

"Financiers all across Wall Street have always been the type of guys who will look people in the eyes and tell them 'we're going to close on Frid ay and I'm going to send you $500K.' Then the closing happen s two wee ks later and at the closing table there's always some stipulation in which the $500K ends up being $400K or $450K. We wanted to get away from that," he says.

The Firm has also stayed away from offering traditional funding vehicles, 66 VALUERICH MAGAZI N E

Ayuda Funding CEO, Manny Bello

which are oftentimes not the most attractive options for small-cap and growth companies . Ayuda began as a stock loan company; by accepting only deals they knew they could close and always delivering, they built Ayuda 's reputation in the marketplace.

For Bello, the next obvious step was to take Ayuda Funding from a small , specialized boutique company to a lending in stitution . He set his sights on factoring, hardly a new financing option, but one he believed he could make simple, elegant and perfect for small-cap players.

Factoring, or the sale of accounts receivable to generate cash, traces back 4,000 year s, to Mesopotamia . While it has slowly evolved over the centu ries, prior to the 1930s it occurred primarily in the te xtile and garment industries.

Since then , factoring has expanded to

a wide variety of other invoice-based busines ses and taken on a wealth of shapes and sizes.

The recent explosion in its utilization is due in part to the number of smallcap, growth and start-up companies populating the marketplace. Factoring's attractiveness lies in its ability to provide immediate ca sh to fuel working capital needs, a prime area of concern for entities whose receivables may be growing faster than their ca sh flow.

The benefits are many. Companies can receive the cash in as little as 24 hours. The amount of funding is limited by credit worthiness rather than finan cial history. No debt is incurred, there fore no additional liability is added to a company 's balance sheet. Like most good things, however, there is a co st -a historically steep one. " Factoring has always been a bus iness that isn 't cheap to do, but it 's a business that everyone understands and is acceptable," says Bello . " Most companies will pay anywhere between 1.5 and 2 percent per month for the factoring and will get an advance rate of somewhere between 60 and 80 percent on average. Better companies will get a higher rate.''

Bello feels that his more than 20 years in the small-cap arena have given him insight into the psyche of the typi cal middle-tier company.

"Wall Street really doesn't pay attention to companies that have less than $700 million in market cap, let alone a company with $100 million. Banks won't take a company that 's losing money, that's a start-up, that trades at a penny Join The iValueRich Community

receivables event. " I' m going to believe in their business and take the benefit of the doubt that these are good receivables . By doing that, I just created a product where a company who Ayuda Funding's booth at the ValueRich Small-cap Expo in Miami traditionally may have been getting an advance rate of a share or that doesn't have money in 60 percent now has access to 80 maybe the bank." even 90 percent:' Securing factoring rate s for those Unlike other players in the markettype s of companies is frequently depenplace, Bello has chosen not to become dent on personal guarantees, a conces a PIPE investor, despite the fact that this sion many executives are unw illing to means foregoing certain opportunities. make . And even if they are, it's still an "We like being involved with publicly expensive funding alternative. traded companies because I personally Bello set out to refine the process understand them, bu t I don't want to be in the situation where I have to sell a " I said to myself, 'How do I create a stock. We want to lend money and get product or something that caters to the it back;' he says. small-cap company- somebody who, With success in the stock loan and from a credit rating standpoint, is not factoring realms and over 260 transan "A" or "A -" client, but really a "B-" or actions under its belt, the Firm 's next "C' client. How do I take a "C" client and challenge is to change the perception give them "A+" rates? of hard money real estate. " I decided to create a product in Hard money loan s, those for which which we take growth companies and real estate serves as the collateral asset, factor their receivables . But inste ad of are commonly used as bridge loans for being a bank and wearing blinders, we'll temporary financing when companies recognize that they 're going through a or individuals need to move quickly. growth phase . We' ll give them higher Bello and his firm are determining ways advance rates than the banks would

to cross-collateralize numerous properties and otherwise ease the process. To underscore that initiative, Ayuda's newest marketing campaign heralds the phrase "Hard Money, Soft Cash :' "We're ju st trying to take a word that everyone knows and really soften the process and make it elegant. We took the stock loan bu siness and made it simple and elegant for our clients . We're taking the receivables business and the factoring and purchase order business, which traditionally the small-cap guy couldn't get involved in, and are now making it very simple, elegant and perfect for him . Hard money has got this stigma and that's our next challenge."

Despite all the growth, Bello's plans for Ayuda Funding boil down to a single fundamental objective.

"Whether they have stock, receivables or real estate, our goal is for people to be able to come to us and we 'll help them out. We really want to have sati sfied customers:' R www.ayudafunding.com

and charge them a lower interest rate.

However, w e want to be protected .

The collateral for the transaction is the rece ivable. But on top of that, we'll do a credit analysis on the company and its rec e ivables and come up with a number.

"For example, we'll tell the company that we're willing to give them a line of credit for $5 million a month , but our credit department thinks their receivable s aren't that strong. There's a possible ris k of half a million dollars. But instead of a personal guarantee from a CEO, I will need someone in the company to post half a million dollars' worth of their stock in an escrow account ju st in case there is an accident . We're not going to touch it. They 're not going to touch it. It 's only there in case of a www . iVALUERICH .co m

Bello & his team. From left to right: Jennifer Grimaldi, Linda Holzli, Geri Timpanaro and Nichole Usinowicz.

SPRING / SUMMER 2007 67

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of Public Affairs and Development for SISF, explains a critical issue facing our nation

OK, so some of you may not recognize

today: "Our state, Nevada, ranks 49th

the lyrics to The Who's 1968 song "Magic

out of 50th on a 'smartest' state ranking,

Bus," but for those who experienced the

with our neighbor, Arizona, ranking 50th.

1960s and 1970s, "magic bus" conjures up

Internationally, the U.S. is losing ground to

grams supporting seriously ill children

SISF has a number of charitable pro-

images of psychedelic swirls on VW buses

other countries such as China and South

and does not believe that orphan diseases

and the scent of patchouli oil. A different

Korea. Over one-third of the jobs in the U.S.

should be ignored because of profit mar-

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are science and technology based, yet the

gins. An "orphan disease" is a disease that

for middle and high schoolers to learn sci -

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ceutical industry because it provides little

will spark their interest in pursuing science-related fields -

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financial incentive for the private sector to make and market new medications

a desperately

needed trend .

The BioFuture bus , a 40 -foot mobile science laboratory that is opening the bioscience door to youth, is just one of the creative

"Over one-third of the jobs in the U.S. are science and technology based, yet the U.S. only has 17 percent of its youth pursuing science and technology degrees."

it may be a rare disease (affecting fewer than 200,000 people) or a common disease that has been ignored (such as tuberculosis, cholera and malaria) because it is more

missions of the Samaritan Innovative Science Foundation (SISF, or Samaritan

to treat or prevent it. Furthermore,

adventures in forensics, chemistry, physics

prevalent in underdeveloped countries.

Foundation), a nonprofit organization

and general science, BioFuture repre se nts

One in four people stricken by orphan

sponsored by Samaritan Pharmaceuticals

a cool way to get students interested in

diseases, however, are children.

(AMEX: LIV) . SISF sees a future in which

pursuing careers in science and at the

the international business community is

same time improve their academic per-

responsible for working together in part-

formance. The mobile science laboratory,

rate in research, development and manu-

nership to contribute to the creation of a

based on the hit TV show CSI: Crime Scene

facturing of orphan drugs for distribution .

physically and socially healthy world for

Investigation, will be equipped with state-

Plans are under way for a Children's Orphan

children.

of-the-art computer and scientific ameni -

Drug Development Center. Another goal

ties beyond the budgetary reach of most public schools. It will even feature a raised ceiling holding video monitors, built-in

is to provide humanitarian relief to those afflicted with HIV/ AIDS, by providing lowor no-cost inhibitor drugs, pending Food

small-cap biotechnical company dedicated

video cameras and cordless microphones,

and Drug Administration approval.

to drug development for life-threatening

allowing teachers to demon strate close-

diseases. The Samaritan Foundation com-

up procedures.

SISF was founded in 2003 by Dr. Janet Greeson, president and CEO of Samaritan Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a Las Vegas-based

plements the company 's focus through

Aside from SISF's role in stimulating

SISF, through its relationship with Samaritan Pharmaceuticals, will collabo-

Samaritan Foundation strongly believes that sustainable solutions to many longterm medical and social issues facing chil-

two different avenues : promoting sci-

targeted academic performance in science

dren today can be found by working with

ence education to middle school- and

and technology, the Foundation proposes

like-minded organizations.

high school-age students and providing

partnering with pilot programs for at-risk

medical needs and low-cos t drugs to

youth, including empowerment programs

Foundation at:

underserved and needy children.

of safe, supervised "non-school" time.

www.samaritanpharma.com/sisf V R

68 VALUERICH MAGAZINE

Read more about the Samaritan

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T

he ballad of the Gibson Guitar Company is, in many senses, the ballad of 20th century music.

Gibson has laid down the susta ining chords beneath the world's love affair with American jazz, blues and rock music, and occasionally broken loose with an electrifying lead riff of innovation.

But it is also an amazing business turnaround story that could ultimately bring even more significant contributions to the world's music.

During the advent of jazz in the '20s and '3 0s, and R&B and rock in the '50s and '60s, Gibson had heydays at the pinnacle of the modern mu sic world. It is the only company to establish industry standards through specific design innovations in every major fretted instrument style: acoustic guitar, electric guitar, electric bass, banjo and mandolin.

But the Company has fallen on hard times occasionally as well, reaching its nadir under errant leadership in the late '70s and early '80s. Gibson was in dire financial trouble when current owners Henry Juszkiewicz and David Berryman purchased it in 1986 for a fire-sale price.

"We had a combination of two objective s," says CEO Henry Juszkiewicz. "One was a business objective. Gibson came to us as part of a search for an acquisition . The Company met the financial cri teria sheet that I had put out to investment bankers and brokers as to what we were looking for. It was roughly the correct size and we were in fact looking for a turnaround company. Gibson was definitely that.

"The second thing was that I was personally a guitar player and had a respect and understanding of the Gibson brand .

I could apply my personal knowledge, albeit a consumer's knowledge, to the product- something that I really loved and understood. So it met both my perwww . iVALUERICH .com

Two Icons: Paul McCartney recently posed with his Gibson Custom L-5 for press releases of the first digital release of his entire solo catalog by Capitol/EM I.

(PRNewsFoto/Capitoi/ EMI)

sonal criteria and avocation as well as my business purpose:' To really understand Juszkiewicz 's passion about the guitar company, one must understand the special place Gibson hold s in the hearts of musician s around the world .

Shaping sound The Gibson story begins with Orville Gibson, a Kalamazoo, Michigan, wood carver and accomplished mandolin and guitar player. Gibson made unique and superb mandolins by hand, carving the tops, backs and sides in the manner of SPRING/ SUMMER 2007 71

violins . By the 1890s, he was applying the same techniques to produce very fine arch -top guitars. Always in search of the ultimate sound, he hand-carved arched soundboards and backs from thick pieces of select woods, thumping them and refining the sound as he worked. He was also among the first to use steel strings rather than gut.

Demand for Gibson 's high - quality instruments grew. In 1902 he entered into an agreement with a group of businessmen to form the Gibson MandolinGuitar Manufacturing Co. Ltd. Gibson was paid a lump sum for his name and patents but did not receive many shares in the new company. Beyond training new employees in his techniques, he had very little to do with day-to-day operations. He retired in 1904, receiving a pension until his death in 1918.

King of the jazz and big band guitars After World War I, interest in the mandolin waned, and the banjo experienced an upsurge in popularity. This

led to tough times for Gibson. The company began manufacturing banjos and changed its name to Gibson Inc. in 1923.

About this time, acoustic engineer Lloyd Loar joined the company and worked on improving the mandolin to bolster its popularity. He also applied his innovations to the guitar, creating the first big Gibson breakthrough in guitars in 1924- the arch-top Gibson L-5 . The L-5 had two scrolling f-shaped openings rather than an oval sound hole, a floating bridge, improved neck design, a metal truss rod and raised fingerplates. The L-5 was easier to play and louder than other acoustic guitars of the time. It quickly emerged as the favorite of jazz and big band guitarists around the world and was partly responsible for the banjo falling out of favor as a rhythm instrument in the 1930s.

One of Gibson's most famous early guitars was the Super 400, which pushed the envelope of the L-5 design, both in size and craftsmanship quality.

In 1939, the Company broke more new ground with single cutaway versions of the L-5 and Super 400 for greater ease of playing.

During this time, Gibson became the foremost arch-top guitar company and even produced flat-top guitars that rivaled well-respected Martin Dreadnoughts . In 1938 the Company introduced the SJ-200, a super large bodied flattop guitar that, to this day, remains a stalwart for country music entertainers .

The electric age Loar also experimented with a prototype electronic pickup while working for Gibson , but development stalled when he left to form his own company, Vivi-Tone. Gibson eventually introduced a Hawaiian electric guitar in 1935, and its first hollow-bodied electric guitar in 1936- the "Electric Span ish model " ES-150. It was essentially an arch-top, fholed guitar fitted with a single large pickup. While the ES-150 was very popu-

An authentic reproduction of the Les Paul "Log" 72 VALUERICH MAGAZINE

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lar, all hollow-bodied guitars had a single overriding drawback - vibration from the hollow soundboard caused feedback with the electronic pickups.

Gibson again encountered difficulties during World War II, when manufacturing was given over to wartime prod ucts . The Company became a subsidiary of The Chicago Musical Instrument Company (CMI), one of the largest wholesale and distribution companies in 1944.

Meanwhile, jazz guitarist Les Paul began experimenting to reduce feedback and develop longer sustain (the length of time a note sounds) with an electric guitar. Paul built an experimental guitar by simply cutting an Epiphone f-hole acoust ic guitar down the middle and inserting a 4 inch x 4 inch solid block of maple the full length . On the block, he mounted two single-coil pickups and a Gi bson neck. This provided for less movement of the pickup and vibration, which solved the feedback problem. As for sustain, Les Paul said, "You could play a note, go out and eat and come back and the note would be still sounding:' This ungainly prototype was nicknamed the Les Paul "Log." When Paul took his ideas to Gibson, they were not impressed, calling it a " broomstick with a pickup on it." This attitude cost Gibson dearly in terms of leadership in electric guitar innovation, because at the same time, Leo Fender was developing a solid-body electric guitar, which was introduced in 1948 as the Fender Broadcaster. Eventually renamed the Telecaster, Fender's guitar was inexpensive and a best seller.

New leadership About the time Fender introduced the Broadcaster, musical innovator Ted McCarty joined Gibson . McCarty served as company president from 1950 to 1966. Under his leadership, sales grew from less than a million dollars a year to $15 million a year, and the company's profits multiplied 15 times. In 1957, www. iVALUERICH .co m

Les Paul invented multi-track recording, overdubbing, reverb, echo, and has the world's most famous electric guitar- Gibson's iconic Les Paul model- named after him. A Gibson Custom Original Spec 1960 Standard model is shown at right.

CMI acquired Epiphone in a strategy to increase Gibson's dealer base and protect the brand.

It was McCarty who finally lent a friendly ear to Les Paul's ideas, leading to the release of the Gibson Les Paul in 1952. Today, Les Paul models manufactured during the McCarty era are among the most highly regarded and sought-after guitars ever made.

Gibson also transformed the ES150 into a thinner-bodied "semisolid " acoustic-electric with a solid block of wood set down the center. It had a warm , acoustic-like sound . The ES-355 and other models in the "300" series were very successful. Perhaps most famously, B. B. King has played an ES355 named "Lucille" for 40 years.

Always seeking a marketing edge, McCarty began altering the Les Paul series body design in 1959 to try to appeal to a broader audience . The

changes continued until the original Les Paul series was completely discontinued in favor of the "horned " double cutaway SG. McCarty also churned out a series of even more exotic guitar designs, the Flying V (19S8). the Explorer (1959) and the Firebird (1963). He said , "We wanted to do something .. . radical to knock everyone out and show them that Gibson was [more] modern than all the rest:' Though they caused quite a stir in the industry, none of these guitars were terribly good sellers when they were introduced. Today, however, they are much prized by guitar enthusiasts.

Meanwhile, the older Les Paul gui tars, with their signature long sustain and rich, throaty voice, were becoming prized by '60s hard rock musicians such as Mike Bloomfield, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Neil Young, Pete Townshend , and Frank Zappa. Even Mr. Fender Stratocaster himself, Jimi Hendrix, switched to the Les Paul and , also notably, the Gibson Flying V in his

74 VALUERICH MAGAZINE

Band of Gypsies days. Seeing the guitars' new popularity with rock icons, Gibson re-introduced the Les Paul series in 1968.

Back to the future

Innovation at Gibson lost direction after McCarty left the company in 1966.

In 1969 CMI merged with Ecuado ran beer and concrete conglomerate ECI. The new company was named Norlin Industries, Inc. Under the non-musical leadership of Norlin, Gibson turned its back on traditional lines while disastrously chasing trends . By the time Norlin was acquired by Rooney Pace and PiezoElectric Product, Inc., in 1983, Gibson was in a shambles and the new owners promptly put it on the market.

But nobody wanted to buy it.

It wasn't until 1986 that Henry Juszkiewicz and David Berryman learned of the Gibson deal and acquired the company. From that point on, the fortunes of Gibson Guitar Corp. have only gone up. "In 1986, sales were under $10

million," says Juszkiewicz. " Sales are approaching $500 million today:路 Henry Juszkiewicz assumed the role of Chairman and CEO of Gibson Guitar Corp., and David Berryman became its President. Immediately they set about rebuilding the company's reputation.

"In a historic brand there is a very solid image of what the brand is about," says Juszkiewicz. We basically delivered what the consumers' expectations were, and had been, literally for decades. One of the early decisions we made was not to just focus on Gibson products, but to bring back Epiphone, which was almost nonexistent in sales when we acquired the company. It added an entire value market with a brand that was another iconic name in our business . That was extremely successful. " It was not only about reissuing old models, but reinvigorating being Gibson ," Juszkiewicz continues. "At the time, Kramer, which we now own, was making a big promotional push and was reputedly the number one electric

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guitar company. Eddie Van Halen's star was rising . And so, the whole Gibson iconic shape and history was sort of thought to be like 'your father 's gui tar.' Everything was pointy and brightly colored and whammy bars- and most companies in the industry were chasing that fashion.

"From a product positioning standpoint I said, 'Well, that may be true, but Gibson's strength is its fa shion, which is unique and really offers any musical genre a superior instrument. We should go with what we're good at.' Of course that also involves some of the models that had been discontinued.

Retooling a legend "We had a huge amount of stuff in terms of drawings and reference ... at least half of what we needed in-house," explains Juszkiewicz. "But we had lost a lot of the original tooling, and specification s for Gibson models had changed since the'?Os. We actually did have to do some forensic work in order to restore original design values. For the first five years, we pursued some of the smartest guys in design and manufacturing, like Ned Steinberger and Mike Tobias, and eventually ended up buying their small concerns. Getting them really gave us a turbo -boost in terms of technology. Not high technology, but the guitar craft."

The Steinberger and Tobias ba ss companies and Kramer guitars are just some of the acquisitions Gibson has made since the new ownership. In 1987, it acquired the Flatiron Mandolin Company of Bozeman, Montana, and built a new plant to produce Gibson acoustic guitars. Other acquisitions include Slingerland drums and the Dobro resonator guitar company OMI. In 2002, Gibson became a major player in the piano market with the acquisition of the Baldwin Piano Co., the largest American maker of acoustic pianos, along with its historic subsidiaries the Wurlitzer, Chickering and Ellington brands.

Gibson al so has spent a significant amount of energy working on music processing technology for the coming digital age, developing an audio delivwww . iVALUERICH .com

Henry Juszkiewicz, Chairman and CEO of Gibson Guitar Corp. ery system called MaGIC (Media-accelerated Global Information Carrier) that has implications beyond being simply a product. It could evolve into an industry standard.

"There is no doubt in my mind that digital technology offers, not just the professional customer, but all of our customers a huge creative boost- a significant feature enhancement," says Juszkiewicz. "We have been working on that for 12 years."

Gibson's MaGIC makes a standard Cat-S Ethernet cable act like a super cable, capable of carrying up to 32 channels of 32-bit uncompressed digital sound in both directions. With a control stream 100 times as powerful as MIDI over a single wire, it eliminates latency and jitter, allowing professional -quality real -time sync of hundreds of instruments and devices over stadium concert

venue-size distances.

The system also has amazing possibilities for future electronic instruments, like Gib son 's new HD.6X Pro Guitar System , nicknamed the HD Les Paul. This professional-quality Ethernetconnected Les Paul ha s an additional unique pickup that can sample the sound of each of its si x strings at any point in its circular vibration path .

"We're giving more creative freedom to the performer and the musician;' says Juszkiewicz. "Imagine a world with only two colors, black and white. And somebody says, ' Well, you can have si x col ors.' Going from two to si x is a significant enhancement. What you would be able to do with the new color palette would be enormous. That 's really the ability to create a much richer palette sonically -in the surround-sound field as well as different simultaneous effects while you SPRING/ SUMMER 2007 7S

are playing . It is a huge order-of-magnitude leap- allowing composers and players to do great new stuff.

"Today, almost all music is stereo," continues Juszkiewicz. "Despite the fact that films and DVDs have been surround sound for quite some time, music is not surround. Part of the benefit of MaGIC is you're able to really do neat stuff with a richer mix, taking advantage of multiple channels and multi-string output.

The tools to actually work with that in a production environment, outside of movies, are very limited at this point. I forecast another coupl e of years before mu sic gets into surround -which , by the way, sounds phenomenal:' Gibson 's strategy is geared toward seeing MaGIC widely adopted . "We ' ve invented a technology, and there are pat-

ents on it. But we are offering royaltyfree licenses and it will be folded into a chip that will be made readily available to all comers. Cirrus Logic Inc. (NASDAQ: CRUS) is manufacturing it. We are a joint partner in the development of that chip."

Despite Gibson's amazing growth under Juszkiewicz and Berryman over the last 21 years, Juszkiewicz thinks the best is yet to come. "Gibson has got a lot more th at can be done as a brand, beyond our basic charter of guitars.

We've acquired other brands . We are now in

the piano business with Baldwin and the jukebox business w ith Wurlitzer. I think that we can grow the company in a broader charter of being a musician lifestyle company, and being the number one brand in the music lifestyle business .. . Fortune 500. It is very possible:' Then he adds, "We would prefer to be a public company. It is a possibility we would always consider:' V R

Gibson's new HD.6X Pro Guitar System connects to a dig ital sound processor through its Ethernet connection, and features a unique additional pickup (shown here between the bridge and the back hum bucker pickup) that can individually sample the sound of each of its six strings.

76 VALUERICH MAGAZINE

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Gibson Acoustic and Pete Townshend have re-created the 1960s J-200 that he used to pen such classic hits as Pinball Wizard from The Who's 1969 rock opera Tommy and Won't Get Fooled Again.

www. iVALUERICH .com

SPRING/ SUMMER 2007 77

Small-cap Product Mix

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Childlike Fascination Remember when all you wanted was to be a grown-up, able to make your own rules, set your bedtime- in other words, control your world?

Unfortunately, adulthood lost its luster when it began to mean work and suits and deadlines. You may not be able to return to your carefree days of childhood, but this issue's collection of small-cap company products can provide a taste of that elusive fountain of youth .

•

Gone are the times when an RC Cola and a Moon Pie • were

the snack pairing of choice for the lazy days of summer. For many, however, the graham cracker-marshmallow concoction remains an unorthodox gourmet treasure. With its Moon Pie Slammers•, Bravo!

Foods Brands Inc. (OTCBB: BRVO) is satisfying those who thirst for the childhood favorite while creating new fans among today's youth.

The flavored 2 percent milk comes in 14-ounce single-serve bottles and is available in the most popular Moon Pie flavors: chocolate and banana. There's no need to sacrifice nutrition for nostalgic indul gence. Moon Pie Slammers are an excellent source of calcium and protein and fortified with ten essential vitamins.

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• Far from the beat-up models you once navigated at summer camp, Old Town 's• Loon 15 Tandem '" is the latest innovation in

Until you find space for that delu xe rec room , Murrey• Game Tables, a brand of parent company Escalade, Inc. (NASDAQ: ESCA), offers the compact Progressive' " 10 in 1 Multi Game Table so you can get your game on without square footage considerations. The 56 V>'' L x 28 V>'' W x 34 V>'' H table includes Soccer, Air-Powered Hockey, Pool, Table Tennis, Bowling, Shuffle Board, Chess, Checkers, Backgammon, and Cards, with players able to easily convert from game to game.

A cherry laminate finish and gold castings and appointments mean you don't have to banish this leisure-time addiction to the garage or basement. Get ready for some serious time suckage.

78 VALUERICH MAGAZINE

tandem kayaks . Easy to paddle and transport, the Loon 15's roomy cockpit can accommodate two adults or a single paddler with either a child or the family pet. Need some time alone? It can also be conveniently arranged to allow for solo paddling. The Loon 15 boasts lightweight durable construction and a rear Space Hatch'" with bulkheads, ideal for storing provisions and gear for your outing . Old Town is part of Johnson Outdoors Inc. (NASDAQ: JOUT), whose watercraft, marine electronics, diving and outdoor equipment products cater to the adventurer in all of us.

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New Book Gives the Boot to Jerks

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The No Asshole Rule, by Stanford University professor Robert I. Sutton Ph.D. has generated a great deal of interest and been receiving a lot of press since its release in February of this year.

1

CHAPTERI

I What Workplace Assholes Do and I I Why You Know So Many

1

"John Bolton has left a trail of alienated colleagues and ridiculed ideas:'

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Using hard research and many anecdotes from the workplace, Sutton thoroughly documents assholes in all their myriad guises, and explains why we tolerate and even elevate them in organizations. He then makes a convincing case for organizations to purge them, and offers clear methods to survive their pernicious influence.

Sutton serves up example after example that you will recognize in your professional daily life. If ever there was a book that deserved illustrations, this is it. So rather than detail the book in a boring review, we decided to do it with some illustrations.

You can even clip and insert them where they belong in your copy of the The No Assho/e Rule.

I I I I I I 1

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Illustrations by David Willson

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I CHAPTER I I What Workplace Assholes Do and Why You Know So Many I I ... the surgeon that we dubbed I "Dr. Gooser" ... we saw him I I I

80 VALUERICH MAGAZI NE

chasing a female nurse down the hall while trying to pinch her behind.

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Join The iValueRich Community

...

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

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-- ----- - --------- ..

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CHAPTER2

The Damage Done: Why Every Workplace Needs the Rule

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Assholes have devastating cumulative effects partly because nasty interactions have a far bigger impact on our moods than positive interactions -five times the punch

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I I I I I I I I I www.

What's your company's TCA (Total Cost of Assholes)?

iVALUERICH .com

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SPRING/ SUMMER 2007 81

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CHAPTER3

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How to Implement the Rule, Enforce It, and Keep it Alive The implication is that assholes will breed like rabbits

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I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

I

------------------- Clip and insert at page 119

I CHAPTER4 I How to Stop I Your "Inner Jerk" I from Getting

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Admitting you're an asshole is the first step.

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82 VALUERICH MAGAZINE

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I

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...

I ------------ ---------- -I Clip and insert at page 135

CHAPTERS

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

When Assholes Reign: Tips for Surviving Nasty People and Workplaces

... framing demeaning encounters in an optimistic light can help sustain your physical and mental health.

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

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I I I I I I

CHAPTER6

The Virtues of Assholes

I

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I put "Steve Jobs" and "asshole" in Google and got 89,000 matches.

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SPRING / SUMMER 2007 83

Linkedln and the Art of Avoiding an Asshole Boss Posted: April 10, 2007- By: Guy Kawasaki Since blogging about Bob Sutton's notorious book, The No Asshole Rule, I have received a constant flow of emails from

readers shari ng their own tales of lecherous bosses and indignities suffered.

Mean -spirited morons are still running much of the workplace, and it's time to take a stand. Most nastiness is directed by superiors to subordinates; so before taking a job, do your homework and screen them out in advance. (After all, avoidance is easier than curing .)

To do this, I propose that you check your prospective boss's references just like she's checking out yours. I'm not suggesting that you ask your prospective boss for a list of references (you can try, but it may mean you don't get the job) .

1. Kisses-up and kicks-down: "How does the prospective boss respond to feedback from people higher in rank and lower in rank? Can you provide examples from experience?" One characteristic of certified assholes is that they tend to demean those who are less powerful while brown-nosing their superiors.

2. Can't take it: "Does the prospective boss accept criticism or blame when the going gets tough?'' Be wary of people who constantly dish out criticism but can't take a healthy dose themselves.

3. Short fuse: "In what situations have you seen the prospective boss lose his temper?" Sometimes anger is justified or even effective when used sparingly, but someone who "shoots-themessenger" too often can breed a climate of fear in the workplace. Are co-workers scared of getting in an elevator with this person?

4. Bad credit: "Which style best describes the prospective boss: gives out gratuitous credit, assigns credit where credit is due, or believes everyone should be their own champion?" This question opens the door to discuss whether or not someone tends to take a lot of credit while not recognizing the work of his or her team.

5. Canker sore: "What do past collaborators say about working with the prospective boss?" Assholes usually have a history of infecting team s with nasty and dysfunctional conflict. The world seems willing to tolerate talented assholes, but that doesn't mean you have to.

Instead, do a Linkedln .com reference check. First, look her up to determine if you have any common connections. If so, find out more from people you trust. Second, use the Linked In reference check tool to find people who overlapped with her in the past.

The beauty of this tool is that she doesn't even have to be a member of Linked ln. You simply specify the company and years of employment for her, and Linkedln will show you people in your network who worked at that company during the same time.

Once you've located folks to serve as a reference check, you need to know what to ask. This is where Badass Bob Sutton comes in. He prepared this list of questions for you.

6. Flamer: What kind of email sender is the prospective boss?

Most assholes cannot contain themselves when it comes to email: flaming people, carbon-copying the world, blind carbon copying to cover his own buttocks. Email etiquette is a window into one's soul.

7. Downer: "What types of people find it difficult to work with the prospective boss? What types of people seem to work very well with the prospective boss?" Pay attention to responses that suggest "strong -willed " or "self-motivated" people tend to work best with the prospective bos s, because assholes tend to leave people around them feeling de-energized and deflated.

8. Card shark: "Does the prospective boss share information for everyone's benefit?" A tendency to hold cards close to one's chest-i.e., a reluctance to share information-is a sign that this person treats co-workers as competitors who must be defeated so he or she can get ahead.

9. Army of one: "Would people pick the prospective boss for their team?" Sometimes there is upside to having an asshole on your team, but that won't matter if the coworkers refuse to work with that person. Use this question to help determine if the benefit of having the prospective boss on your team outweighs any asshole behaviors.

10. Open architecture: "How would the prospective boss respond if a copy of The No Asshole Rule appeared on her desk?" Be careful if the answer is, "Duck!"

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sto ur health!

There is no question that Americans are living longer.

According to a 2006 Harvard Health Letter, advances in medical science and technology expanded our average life expectancy from 75.4 years in 1990 to 77.6 years in 2006. But outliving our parents' generation is no longer the hottest topic. Boomers and Gen Xers alike are increasingly focused on living better lives during their expected longevity.

More highly educated than previous generations and enjoying higher standards of living than ever before, overall life- and health-improving systems and products are the next great fascination .

Livecore Health Technologies, LLC CEO and founder Michael Scott aims to be on the forefront of the ever-evolving "well ness revolution:' With a holistic line of products that meet the nutritional, dietary and personal needs of the next 88 VALUERICH MAGAZIN E

generation, Fort Lauderdale-based Livecore offers a well-rounded, multitier approach to well ness. But Livecore's offerings go beyond traditional ideas of health and well ness to include the less quantifiable conditions of well -being and satisfaction .

A visionary and self-professed convert of the best-selling life manual The Secret, Scott says, "In an overall sense, we are an intellectual and physical health and wellness product distributor. But at the core, we are truly a holistic well ness company, offering all-natural products and services that meet the whole needs of a population increasingly dissatisfied with traditional offerings."

Natural and organic health products Scott will be serving consumers in an

industry that is becoming bigger and bigger business. According to Paul Zane Pilzer, economist and renowned author of The Wei/ness Revolution, "One-seventh, $1.5 trillion, of the U.S. economy today [2003] is devoted to the healthcare business;' which Pilzer refers to as the "Sickness Industry." He continues, " However, by the year 2010, an additional $1 trillion of the economy will be devoted to products and services that keep us healthy, make us look or feel better, slow down the effects of aging, and prevent diseases from developing altogether."

Following in Pilzer's footsteps, Scott's Livecore balances a holistic approach to the latest well ness products with a solid sales and marketing foundation that benefits from one of the fastest-grow-

... by the year 2010, an additional $1 trillion of the economy will be devoted to products and services that keep us healthy...

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ing distribution methods available. The Company 's offerings include a unique antioxidant drink, magnetic therapy products, intellectual product services and the Internet-based distribution of herbs and supplements.

ments and herbs through its Web site (www.livecore ll c.com). On-site, consumers and distribution partners can gather to discuss, purchase and offer advice on

Fountain of Yiith To capture market share, Livecore has developed Yuth, a 100 percent natural antioxidant drink with a synergistic blend of specia l antioxidant berries that combine to create a unique drink.

It is specially formulated in both male and female versions, which adds to the product 's competitive differentiation .

Yuth capitalizes on the ever-growing suggested benefits of antioxidants , which include assisting in the prevention of cancer and heart disease, boosting the immune system and even slowing the aging process.

Livecore will make both versions of its Yuth drink readily available through its direct distribution network and will add other all-natural , high-qual ity products to this line as it grows in popularity.

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HEALTH

TECHNOLOGIE S

the very best nutritional supplements, herbs and vitamins avai lable.

Holistic TV To round out its offerings, Livecore's unique approach to wellness includes a first-of-its-kind "real ity" television program that will be produced and offered to cable and network channels as an ongoing series. The program, tentatively titled America's Forgotten , will highlight the plight of America 's homeless popu-

lation, but will primarily seek to reha bilitate participants using nutritional supplements, education and a holistic approach to wellness.

This unprecedented concept clearly illustrates Li vecore's interpretation of a holistic approach to well-being. Scott says, "We are particularly excited about this television program because it is unique versus anything seen before on television or online. Not only will it offer a second chance to its stars, but it will have long-lasting appea l for viewers, who will be inspired to have their own lives benefit from using a core well ness program such as Livecore's offerings:' This program will also be utilized to launch the product Web site and create a market for the Company's intended stock offering.

Well ness: Consumer to consumer Livecore's business is designed to redefine wellness for the population,

Magnetic Pull The second tier of Livecore's well ness offerings includes its magnetic therapy products, designed to take advantage of the proven benefits of magnetic therapy. This includes relief from various types of pain , including arthritis, back pain , headaches, pinched nerves, poor circulation, depression, and muscle and joint discomfort.

Unlike competitors, Livecore's magnetic therapy products integrate both beauty and functionality, offering a line of magnetic therapy-infused jewelry, back wraps, knee wraps, mattress pads, belts, massage products and shoe inso les.

Supplements In addition to its antioxidant drink and magnetic therapy products, Livecore Management recognizes that vitamin and mineral supplements still form the cornerstone of any properly designed wellness program . Toward that end, the Company will also offer hard -to-find and necessary supplewww. iVALUERICH .com

SPRING/ SUMMER 2007 89

Faced with a number of healthcare obstacles and a mother who battled breast cancer, Scott founded Livecore to directly address long-standing industry demand for a complete well-being approach to health and wei/ness. but its long-term growth strategy allows the Company to capitalize on direct-selling distribution methods- one of the most popular and high-growth distribution strategies available today.

Considering all of the elements of wellness and what would be an effective business strategy for a wellness products and services company, Livecore utilizes an "intellectual distribution" strategy. This type of strategy is unique in that it encourages product sales to outperform other online herb and supplement companies and indirect competition in the form of network marketing companies.

Bypassing traditional distribution networks that often substantially reduce margins and create multiple, expensive layers between producer and purchaser, Livecore benefits from direct-representative relationships, now one of the fastest-growing direct-to-consumer sales methods available.

Bringing wellness directly to the consumer is not new to the industry.

In 1980, when Mark Hughes founded competitor Herbalife (NASDAQ: HLF) using direct-selling methods, a multi level marketing (MLM) strategy, this fast-growing methodology was only in its infancy and virtually unheard of for vitamins and nutritional supplements.

Now, Herbalife boasts approximately $1.9 billion in annual sales and 1.5 million worldwide distributors, with products sold in more than 60 countries.

While MLM's bad press might deter some, a personalized strategy like direct selling for health and well ness products and services makes sense to Scott and his company, as his own journey toward wellness as a holistic lifestyle is a perso nal story.

Faced with a number of healthcare obstacles and a mother who batt led breast cancer, Scott founded Livecore to directly address long-standing industry demand for a complete well-being approach to health and wellness. He brings more than 16 years of professional management and investment banking experience to the Company and has 90 VALUERICH MAGAZINE

advised such high-net-worth clients and corporations as Baxter, Boeing, Coca Cola , Dial, General Electric, Kimberly Clark, and Pfizer.

But even beyond founding a health and wellness company, Scott is particularly satisfied to unveil Livecore's products directly to consumers, using individuals who have already benefited from its products and offerings.

time soon, but faced with the expectation of living longer lives, living well as we get older is an increasing fascination.

Evidenced by the recent popularity of self-help guides and New Age ideas like those found in The Secret, our culture is no longer satisfied only with living longer- we also want to live better.

Livecore Health Technologies seeks to bridge the gap between longevity

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Scott says, "Our goal is to complement the growing need for healthy products and assist many people in the pursuit of healthy lifestyles:' Scott intends to bring Livecore to the public market soon, having already secured sufficient funding for the first round of business development and operations, with an expected second round in the coming months. As a public entity, Livecore expects to build its core offerings, substantially integrate its sales and marketing strategy, and leverage its unique distribution model for long-term, sustained growth.

Conclusion

None of us wants to grow old any-

and wellness by offering substantive products and services to a population faced with living longer and hopefully better lives. Operating in one of the fastest-growing segments ofthe healthcare industry, the Company's individualized distribution strategy brings the very personal nature of well ness directly to consumers and empowers individuals to benefit both business and each other in the process. V R

CONTACT: Livecore Health Technologies, LLC. 101 N.E. 3rd Ave. Suite 1500 Fort Lauderdale, FL. 33301 (P) 954-3 32-3511 Michael Scott michael.scott@livecorellc.com

Articles in ValueRich magazine should not be construed as investm ent or legal advice, nor does their appearance imply an endorsement by ValueRich of any specific investment, security, transaction or strategy. The articles we publish contain the views solely of their respective authors and our publication. There is not a claim, promise or guarantee about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information, and neitherValueRich or its authors are responsible or liable for any trading or investment decisions made based on such information. Our affiliates, officers, directors and employees may have purchased or may buy shares discussed in ValueRich from time to time. We may also receive compensation from parties who utilize our publication services and engage in future transaction s as a result of our services or publication.

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路o"'P-.r lsoRayN

lsoRay, Inc., through its subsidiary lsoRay Medical, Inc., is the sole producer of the Cesium-131 brachytherapy seed, used to treat prostate and other cancers. The Cesium-13 1 seed offers a significantly shorter half-life than the two other isotopes commonly used for brachytherapy, which results in a substa ntially faster delivery of therapeutic radiation, lower probability of cancer cell survival and reduction of the longevity of common brachytherapy side effects.

MEDICAL

When did you establish an AMEX listing as one of the Company's goals and how long did it take you to accomplish it?

The process took about six months. A listing on a major exchange was part of our business strategy from the beginning and we continually worked toward that goal. This included a reverse merger, Pink Sheet listing, moving to the OTCBB and then the listing on the AME X. 92 VALUERICH MAGAZI NE

What's something about the process that was harder than you anticipated?

The listing process was much more detailed and thorough with regards to our financials and financial process. The preparation and approach used in preparing our financial statements and other data was reviewed in great detail. Regulations today are much more stringent, especially when you are producing and handling radioactive materials. You have to be prepared to prove your financial stabi lity and staying power for the AMEX and the investment community. And that's a good thing .

What does an AMEX listing say about your Company vs. a Bulletin Board listing?

In short: you've arrived . It sends a strong signal to the financial community, customers and competitors that the Company is in a position to aggressively carve out a bigger market share, and has the resources to expand production and sales operations to reach that goal.

It also helps set the stage for reaching the strategic goals you established for the Company at the very beginning. In our case, that means new applications and new products in treating all soft tissue malignancies throughout the body.

What's one piece of advice you would give other smallcap companies who wish to achieve this feat?

Know that it is going to take longer, and cost more, than you might anticipate. Surround yourself with a highly capable team , both in-house and consultants, to help guide you through the process.

Who or what proved to be essential resources in the process?

We hired an extremely capable and experienced CFO along with an excellent legal team . You need an individual within the company who knows the financials in minute detail, who knows how they were built and knows how they were audited.

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That individual must ensure that all financial matters are in order all of the time.

Having a top-notch individual that you can work with to help tell your financial story to investors and the financial community is critical to a company's growth and ultimate success.

Moreover, it has given me a little more freedom to support the rest of our management team in specific areas, particularly sales, production and new business initiatives.

What do you predict will be the biggest change you will have to make now that you're an AMEX-Iisted company?

The bar is set higher now. The Company is expected to perform at a higher level, with the expectation that gross margins will eventually generate net profits- and sooner versus later.

What's the next big thing the Company is focusing on? lsoRay now has the opportunity to become very aggressive -focusing on increased market penetration and production capacity. Treating prostate cancer using Cesium-131 isotope seeds is only the first step. We expect to broaden our efforts with the development of protocols for the treatment of skin,

Ia'"Medical Nutrition USA, Inc. Medical Nutrition USA, Inc., develops and distributes products for the nutritionally at-risk who are under medica/supervision.

Its products are used primarily in long-term care facilities, hospitals, dialysis clinics and bariatric clinics. The Company's product lines include Pro-Stat"' and Fiber-Stat"', as well as private-/abel products.

When did you establish a NASDAQ listing as one of the Company's goals and how long did it take you to accomplish it?

Becoming listed on a major exchange was an integral part of our strategy at the time the Company was recapitalized in April 2003 . At that time we estimated that if we executed our business strategy properly, we should be able to qualify within three to four years, and that is exactly what occurred.

What's something about the process that was harder than you anticipated?

As a longtime SEC reporting company, we thought that our filings would provide sufficient information for NASDAQ.

www . iVALUER I CH .com

breast, liver, lung , pancreatic and other malignancies over the next few years, as well as introducing new isotopes to the cancer therapy market.

We are also actively engaged in pursuing market development opportunities outside the United States, including the development of production facilities and distribution channels.

What's the most important thing for shareholders to know about the Company?

We are tracking very well with regards to our strategic business plan, and that means there is huge upside potential in the valuation of Iso Ray. After the white papers on the early patient protocols were presented at the American Brachytherapy Society in April 2007, physician acceptance of our proprietary Cesium-131 isotope in prostate seed brachytherapy is growing rapidly. Cesium-131 is setting a new standard for fast and effective treatment of prostate cancer, with clinical studies indicating patients are able to return to normal activities sooner with fewer side effects.

w.Street

We were a little surprised at the extent of their due diligence beyond our SEC reports.

What does a NASDAQ listing say about your Company vs. a Bulletin Board listing?

A NASDAQ listing infers a much higher level of financial strength and future business prospects than an OTCBB listing.

It also enables us to attract broader investor interest, including the many institutional investors who avoid Bulletin Board companies.

What's one piece of advice you would give other smallcap companies who wish to achieve this feat?

Run your business as if it is already what you want it to become. Adopt major exchange governance requirements, use a PCAOB-compliant auditor, establish an investor relations process and demonstrate performance predictability and consistent growth.

Who or what proved to be essential resources in the process?

Our investor relations firm . It helps to have someone who's been through the process before.

What do you predict will be the biggest change you will have to make now that you're a NASDAQ-Iisted company?

Cultivate and remain in contact with a much longer list of current and potential investors.

What's the next big thing the Company is focusing on?

Taking our business to the next level of sales and profitabil ity through new product introductions, sales force expansion and potential acquisitions.

What's the most important thing for shareholders to know about the Company?

Our proprietary products have a 30-year record of clinical use and development. We have an unusually experienced management team for a company our size. And over 80 percent of our market remains untapped.

SPRING/ SUMMER 2007 93

Williams Controls is a leading global designer and manufacturer of Electronic Throttle Control Systems (ETCs) for the heavy truck, bus and off-road markets. Williams Controls is headquartered in Portland, Oregon, and employs more than 200 people worldwide at locations in North America, Europe, and Asia.

ÂŁ~ WILLIAMS ~CONTROLS

When did you establish a NASDAQ listing as one of the Company's goals and how long did it take you to accomplish it?

Williams Controls was traded on NASDAQ until2001 , when the Company was delisted during a brush with bankruptcy.

Over the course of four years, our senior management team and employees worked very hard to turn things around while we continued to trade our stock OTC. Once Williams Controls regained its financial stability and began to post consistent gains, we started the process for returning to NASDAQ. What's something about the process that was harder than you anticipated?

Once we reached financial stability, the process was very straightforward.

What does a NASDAQ listing say about your Company

Pioneer Behavioral Health operates

PIONEER BEHAVIORAL companies that provide inpatient HEALTH and outpatient behavioral health

care services, clinical research and Internet- and telephonic-based referral services. The companies contract with national insurance companies, government payers, and major transportation and gaming companies, among others, to provide such services.

94 VALUERICH MAGAZINE

vs. a Bulletin Board listing?

At this stage in our company 's growth, it was important for us to be on a national exchange to increase awareness within the investment community and to enhance the liquidity of our shares. Our move also opened the door for many more institutional buyers to buy our stock.

Who or what proved to be essential resources in the process?

At Williams Controls we are committed to providing superior service to our customers. We experienced a similar commitment from NASDAQ, where people were very helpful and attentive to our needs every step of the way.

What do you predict will be the biggest change you will have to make now that you're a NASDAQ-Iisted company?

While we expect our NASDAQ listing to increase investors' familiarity with Williams Controls and help grow our investor base, my job as CEO remains unchanged. I will continue to work with my senior management team to grow the business and run it profitably in order to maximize shareholder value.

What's the next big thing the Company is focusing on?

Williams Controls will continue to expand our global business by capitalizing on the world 's move toward tougher emission standards in the heavy truck, bus and off-road vehicle markets. In addition to developing many new products, we are also expanding our international facilities and continually improving operating efficiency and customer service in order to maintain our global leadership position.

What's the most important thing for shareholders to know about the Company?

Williams Controls is strategically well-positioned and has the financial resources and leadership team to continue to grow our global business profitably.

When did you establish an AMEX listing as one of the Company's goals and how long did it take you to accomplish it?

We started off as a NASDAQ company and lost our NASDAQ listing during the meltdown of companies [in 2000] because of the price. We met all of the other qualification requirements (equity, volume, number of shares). but felt it was not in our best interest to do a reverse split t o maintain our listing. So we ended up trading on the Bulletin Board, and over the years the stock price has continued to improve. The goal was then to meet the minimum share requirement on AMEX or NASDAQ and get a national listing . Once we were where we needed to be, AMEX worked with us very closely and actively courted us to get this thing done. I think from the time we were ready to go to the time we were listed was eight or nine weeks.

What's something about the process that was harder than you anticipated?

Once it started moving, it worked fine. It's just a matter of meeting the requirements and getting everyone's support. I Join The iValueRich Community

think if they want you, you meet the requirements, you fill out all the paperwork and have a very competent staff that turns stuff around in a day or two days, it works pretty quickly.

We always reported and acted like we were a fully reporting NASDAQ company, even though we weren 't NASDAQ listed - knowing that when the time came, we wouldn't have to worry about any of the compliance or independence issues.

What does an AMEX listing say about your Company vs. a Bulletin Board listing?

People look at Bulletin Board companies differently, even though our stock never traded like a Bulletin Board company.

(There was plenty of volume, always a very tight spread, 15 to 25 market makers and tons of institutional involvement and reporting shareholders.) It's a credibility issue. We're now members of a national exchange. That adds credibility, and I think that's important.

We also have a very high institutional shareholder base for a small company. I'd say 75 percent of our shares are in institutional hands. Our institutions were interested in a national listing since many institutions couldn 't buy the stock while it was listed on the Bulletin Board .

What's one piece of advice you would give other smallcap companies who wish to achieve this feat?

You just need to have a plan . Remember that the bottom line is the balance sheet and the fundaments of the business.

Everyone wants to do it immediately, but it may be a threeyear plan . Look at the requirements, get your balance sheet in shape, raise equity if necessary and read all their governing requirements. Get all of that stuff done and then when you

meet the price, it will be easy. If you meet the price and then have to do all the other stuff, it could take a year or more. Who knows where you 'll be in a year.

Who or what proved to be essential resources in the process?

Our key was working with a specialist that we had a comfort level with: Roland Savage at AGS Specialists. (I actually met them for the first time at your [ValueRich] conference in Palm Beach .) It's essential to have an advocate who is confident and comfortable with your company.

What's the next big thing the Company is focusing on?

The Company is growing at an accelerated rate. We just signed a new contract in January and we're building a new hospital. We're going to grow 60 percent in the next 24 months just based on what we've publicly announced. With a few additional initiatives that we're anticipating, we could be double our size in three years. This is a great opportunity for us. We're very profitable, with a strong positive cash flow and unused lines of credit, so we don't need to raise any cash . Now it 's just execution of our business model that's going to take us to double our size in three years.

What's the most important thing for shareholders to know about the Company?

We've been profitable for 25 consecutive quarters, have a strong balance sheet, an experienced management team and have been in business in excess of 20 years. We're also in a rapidly growing industry and our customer base, which we've had 5-, 10-, 15-year relationships with, is made up of some of the country's largest companies. VR

Eat My Web site!

Racer, Chris Sarian had a little message for all the drivers he was leaving in the dust as he raced in the 2007 Pro Mazda MX-5 Cup. It was, "Come meet me at iValueRich.com:' iValueRich.com is one of the sponsors of Sarian's Sarwood Racing. You can meet Chris at his member page on iValueRich where he blogs about his racing team.

www . iVALUERICH . co m

SPRING/ SUMMER 2007 9S

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What do 78o/oof Fortune 100 CEOs and CFOs have in common?

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Emission & Power Solutions, Inc.

By Kristina Henneberg

Talking about skyrocketing fuel prices has become almost like talking about the weather.

We can scour the media for various environmental indicators, but fuel prices, like Mother Nature, can be an unpredictable force. While the price per gallon of gas trickles down from powers that be- the world's energy suppliers -we can't do anything about it except complain. Now a soon-to-be-public fuel technology transfer company, Emission & Power Solutions, Inc. (EPS), is putting the breaks on rising fuel costs with the promise of clearer skies ahead.

Using advanced-stage, patented technologies, EPS is developing a line of innovative fuel-treatment products that separate out the impurities normally found in diesel and gasoline fuels, thereby increasing the fuels' energy potential to create a more efficient and cleanerburning fuel. Its flagship product, the FX

Reactor, works as an in-line fuel treatment device for diesel engines, consistently improving fuel economy and the operating performance of diesel engines and also reducing environmentally harmful emissions. The product has been proven to increase mileage by up to 10 percent, and reduce exhaust emissions by more than 50 percent, in diesel engines. The patent-protected technology behind the FX Reactor is the result of over five years and $7 million of research and development. With the FX Reactor and its other environ men-

ance with specialty financier and technology transfer market leader UTEK Corporation (AMEX : UTK, LSE-AIM : UTKA). In exchange for equity securities, UTEK enables companies to acquire highly sought-after technologies from universities and research laboratories worldwide, with the intention of making commercially viable products. The companies have closed three technology deals to date.

"Our relationship with UTEK paid off almost immediately;' says Erik Ulsteen, CEO of EPS . "UTEK analyzed our intellectual property position and found that the patents covered a very broad range in their field. They also helped implement a technology transfer program allowing us to acquire new and exciting technologies:'Through its alliance with UTEK, EPS has acquired technologies that address fuel inefficiencies in unique ways, putting new controls directly in the hands of vehicle original equipment manufac-

The product has been proven to increase mileage by up to 10 percent, and reduce exhaust emissions by more than 50 percent, in diesel engines.

98 VALUERICH MAGAZINE

tally friendly fuel and emission-efficient products gearing up for commercialization, EPS believes anyone can start cleaning up at the pump.

Driven by technology EPS got its big break in June of 2005 when it entered into a strategic alii-

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turers (OEM s) .

Proven performance at low cost Approximately 3.5 centimeters in diameter and 84 centimeters in length, and weighing 3 kilograms , the FX Reactor is an easily installed after-market product that sits between the fuel tank and the injectors. Tests performed by independent labs recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) show that the FX Reactor improves fuel consumption by up to 10.5 percent and reduces particulate

percent of this market, we'll have a very significant source of income."

Traveling around the globe The FX Reactor is currently being tested and sold worldwide on heavy construction equipment, delivery trucks and school buses, all notorious diesel guzzlers, in addition to passenger vehicles with diesel engines.

EPS sells through individual distribu-

EPS has sold units in India and Turkey and, pending additional financing , plans to expand into Europe, Asia and South America .

Giving gas to rev up sales More than 60 percent of fuel used for transportation is in the form of gasoline.

According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA) , gasoline is the fuel used by most of the

According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gasoline is the fuel used by most of the passenger vehicles in the United States, where 234 million vehicles use gasoline to travel almost 72,000 miles per year

matter by 22 percent, as well as greenhouse nitrogen o x ide gases (NOx) -which deplete the ozone layer and create acid rain- by up to 52 percent.

EPS has sold approximately 3,000 FX Reactor diesel units to date and 400 are currently undergoing field testing with customers. The FX Reactor has logged millions of kilometers on the road without a single warranty claim . " No one has the extensive field testing behind this type of product like we do," claims Ulsteen.

When you weigh the cost of diesel fuel against the FX Reactor 's suggested retail price of $895 per unit, a return on investment can be realized in just a few months.

According to Ulsteen , "one of our shareholders with an SUV said his MPG jumped from 10.5 miles to the gallon to 13.7 miles. An owner of a Mercedes, who said he increased his fuel mileage by 15 to 20 percent tooling around the suburbs, is now able to use a lower fuel grade, which adds to his savings. And, all the while, he says his car is running better than before." Ulsteen believes that these testimonials, along with tests performed at independent labs recognized by the EPA, create a compelling directto-consume r selling opportunity. " Eighty million cars and trucks are sold worldwide each year, and the after-market for vehicular products is in the billions. If we capture just a small www.

iVALUERICH .com

tors, and recently signed Summit CMG, Inc., as its master distributor covering North America. Master distributors help to control costs, provide uniform sales and marketing, and create efficient product flow through distributors dispersed within a particular region or nationwide.

This type of inventory control can help even out the flow of profits quarter to quarter, and prepare the Company to meet anticipated demand.

"We have outsourced both manufacturing and distribution, keeping our overhead as low as possible. We believe in spending money on R&D and support for our global distributors," says Ulsteen. In addition to North America ,

passenger vehicles in the United States, where 234 million vehicles use gasoline to travel almost 12,000 miles per year.

EPS is in the final stages of developing a gasoline version of the FX Reactor, with market introduction slated for the second half of 2007 . In both lab and field testing, the Gasoline I FX Reactor produced up to a 10 percent improvement in fuel consumption .

"We have opened discussions with several OEM's, who have shown a strong interest in incorporating our gasoline fuel technology. While our diesel version will continue to be sold through global distributors, we anticipate Gasoline FX Reactor revenues will come from royalty and licensing fees and joint venture arrangements with OEMs;' Ulsteen says,

SPRING/ SUMMER 2007 99

The FX Reactor can be installed in a variety of vehicles ranging from cars to semis to industrial equipment.

adding that distributors selling the diesel FX Reactor will also have the option to market its gasoline version for commercial fleets.

In the product pipeline

'What we are saying is for a few hundred dollars you can keep your car, install a simple device, and achieve significant environmental and economic benefits.'

EPS is wor king with another UTEK technology to create an onboard fractionalization device that attaches directly to the engine. The system is designed to capture total hydrocarbon s before they become emissions, providing cleaner fuel for better performance and lower emissions. "Within the first two minutes of driving, 90 percent of total hydrocarbons are released into the atmosphere. That distinct smell of gasoline at the ga s station represents the total hydrocarbons vapors that are being released into the air. Total hyd rocarbons are a part of what causes smog over our cities," ex plains Ulsteen.

EPS is also working on a metric sensor that continually senses the level of harmful gases in the engine, including NOx, N02, CO, THC, and other pollutants. The product is being co-developed with Dr. Eric Wachsman of the University of Florida, and will focus on improving oxygen flow throughout the engine, which can allow the engine to burn I 00 VALUE RICH MAGAZINE

more efficiently and lower em issions.

Th is technology can replace existing parts and improve performance for a fraction of the cost. Both devices could reach markets as early as th e end of this year. Ulsteen says these products are just the beginning : "Once our exist-

keep your car, install a simp le device, and achieve significant environmental and economic benefits:' With rising energy prices and con cerns of global warming , fuel devices that decrease consumption and produce cleaner emissions will continue to spur strong market demand and public policy interest. The EPA's Clean Air Act sets national air quality standards for si x pollutants- among them NOx, particulate matter and carbon monoxide. In a landmark decision in April2007, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to let the Clean Air Act stand , thwarting a loophole that would have allowed more than 20,000 power plants, refinerie s and other industrial facilities to replace existing equipment with "functionally equivalent " equipment without f irst undergoing the required clean air reviews. Ulsteen states, "Europeans have long recognized the benefits of environmental products and are more likely to adopt our 'green' products. With this Supreme Court ruling, it is exciting to see the political economy in the U.S. supporting environmental protection :' Investors are increasingly recognizing the value in a "green" portfolio.

"The timing is right to go public;' says Ulsteen. EPS is nearing completion of its reverse merger. Additional financing will help seed the growth of many other fuel efficiency commercial products, which will enable EPS, its shareholders and today 's dr ivers to "get green" in more ways than one. VR

ing technologies go to market, we have another 10 to 15 products behind them, deriving from EPS core technologies ."

Going public

Hybrid vehicl es are being pushed as the environmentally friendly solution to vehicular emissions control. With a sticker price of at least $3,000 more than its gasoline-powered counterpart, however, many see the change as costprohibitive. Ta x credits are meant to offset out-of-pocket expenses, but most of these credits fall under $500. "You don't have to run out and buy a new, more expensive hybrid car. Wh at we are saying is for a few hundred dollars you can

CONTACT: Emission & Power Solutions 5050 Avenida Encinas, Suite 270 Carl sbad, CA 92008 P: 760-93 H 048 or 760-93 H 068 www.epsbb.com Investor Relations John Karrant P: 858-353-7886

Articl es in ValueRich magazine should not be construed as investm ent or legal advice, nor does th eir appearance imply an endorse路ment by ValueRich of any specifi c investm ent, secu rity, t ra nsaction or strategy. The articl es we publish contain th e views solely of their respecti ve auth ors and our publica t ion. There is not a claim, promi se or guarantee about th e accu racy, completen ess or adequacy of the information, and neith er Va lueRi ch or its authors are responsible or liable for any t ra ding or investment decisions made based on such info rm ati on. Our affili ates, offi cers, directors and employees may have purchased or may buy shares discussed in Va lueRi ch from time t o time. We may also rece ive compensation fro m parties w ho utilize our publication services and engage in future transacti ons as a result of our services or publication.

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104 H

pions luxury Homes, Inc. (OTCBB: HLXH)

108 Security With Advanced Technology, Inc. (Nosdoq: 11 2 Simtrol, Inc. (OTCBB: SMRL)

Hamptons Luxury Homes:

Living

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Is there still money in real estate?

It depends on where you look.

By Denelle Swaim

The typical market pendulum and real estate bubbles can drive a rise and fall in the value of the average homeowner's real estate holdings.

However, there are still real estate bargains to be found where low interest rates, fluctuating incomes and mortgage availability do not affect price and value.

Where? Further up the real estate chain, in markets such as the ultra-luxury vacation and resort home sector, typical housing forec asts and economic indicators do not apply. This sector is consistently outperforming its primary home market counterparts in nearly every U.S. region in terms of home sales. Since the nation's wealthiest consumers are not subject to most disposable-income statistics, do not typically seek mortgages for home purchases, and are not pressured by rising interest rates, this market is not starving for appreciation.

Defining "ultra-luxury" In New York's Hamptons, one of the nation's most prestigious and soughtafter housing market s, Hamptons Luxury Homes, Inc. (OTCBB: HLXH) has been redefining lu xury for the past 104 VALUERICH MAGAZINE

two decades. The Bridgehampton-based company builds and maintains extravagant homes to meet the demands of the world 's highest-net-worth individuals.

In popular use, the word "luxury " has come to mean anything from a wellequipped family car to Donald Trump's living accommodations . Hamptons Lu xury Homes' construction and renovation projects are valued at $3 million to $40 million. This demanding market requires true lu xury- the ultimate in detail s, custom design and fabrication, as well as high-end, one-of-a-kind products and workmanship that elevate home renovation and building projects to a new level. In fact, the cost of the exterior portion of one of their recent projects, including custom-designed and fabricated window and exterior door details, exceeded the entire cost of what most companies call a "luxury home:' The Company operates in one of the nation's wealthiest and most established luxury zip codes. The Hamptons boasts a consistently hot real estate market and enjoys ongoing demand for ultraluxury housing.

"One thing we have realized over the

years is that, in the ultra-luxu ry market, money never really goes away, it just changes hands," says Hamptons Lu xury Homes President Roy Dalene.

A complete framework Lu xury builders or general contrac tors who specialize in a particular aspect of home building or renovation typically rely on subcontractors for services and outside companies to source products .

These ar rangements can be difficult to maintain and typically result in sig nificant expenditures, which cut into margins.

Hamptons Lu xury Homes has integrated a number of complementary providers and now benefits from its wholly owned maintenance and service, construction supplies, real estate development, and business consulting subsidiaries. Thanks to the companies housed under its umbrella, Hamptons Lu xury Homes enjoys a competitive edge in the lucrative Hamptons and achieves substantial economies of scale across its subsidiaries.

Primary operating subsidiary Telemark, Inc., provides a complete suite of construction and renovation services Join The iValueRich Community

and offers the highest-quality, customized services that are uniquely tailored to individua l client desires, including new construction, renovations, additions and historic restoration, as well as preservation projects and commercial work.

What's more, Telemark has cultivated a solid brand name and impressive reputation in the marketplace. It has won numerous construction and custom builder awards, including the national Custom Builder of the Year award in 1998 from Custom Builder magazine, and has been featured in some of the bestknown luxury decorating and home periodicals, such as Architectural Digest, Interior Design, House Beautiful, Classic Home and House.

In ultra-luxury home building, establishing a reputation for quality and reliability and sustaining a market presence in the area are critical success factors.

Most of Hamptons Luxury Homes' work comes from word-of-mouth referrals from past clients, architects, real estate brokers and other members of the community.

A second Hamptons Luxury Homes subsidiary, Telemark Service and Maintenance, Inc., provides complete property management, maintenance, service contracts, insurance repairs and handyman services, which complement Telemark's construction services.

While the Telemark companies may set the stage, it's the Company's com-

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plementary subsidiaries that form the cornerstone of Hamptons Luxury Homes' unique value proposition. Rather than being at the mercy of outside vendors for high-quality materials and timely service, Hamptons Luxury Homes controls its margins via three wholly owned construction companies, Bridgehampton Lumber, Inc., Telemark Service & Maintenance, Inc. and Architectural Woodwork of the Hamptons, LLC. These subsidiaries provide material supplies, custom construction packages, car pentry labor, painting labor and architectural woodwork for every Hamptons Luxury Homes project.

In addition to construction or renovation, many vacation and resort homeowners require sales, service and financial consulting. Hamptons Luxury Homes' two additional subsidiaries -East Coast Properties, Inc., and DWD Construction Service, Inc.- round out the Company's offerings, to solidify and complete the full-service construction and services framework.

With its own labor, lumber, real estate, maintenance and consulting companies, Hamptons Luxury Homes retains ultimate control over the qual-

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Hamptons Luxury Homes P.O. Box871 Bridgehampton, NY 11932 631-537-1600 www.hlxhomes.com CONNECT

Beverly Jedynak Martin E. Janis & Company, Inc. 312-943-1100 ext. 12 bjedynak@janispr.com

ity of its custom work. This structure also allows the Company to construct most of its Custom Estate Homes in less than 12 months, a substantially shorter construction period than that of its competitors.

The Company's strategy is to cross-

SPRING/ SUMMER 2007

I OS

public support to gain credibility for the Company 's unique, all-inclusive business model and to rapidly implement an aggressive roll-up strategy that includes acquisition of high-quality service providers and trade contractors while allowing for both cash and stock transactions.

Though going public undoubtedly affords unique access to funding sourc-

sell each of its services and emphasize the simplicity of dealing with a single company for property management.

In addition , the inherent economies of scale allow clients to receive a higher quality of service at a more reasonable price.

Public building To gain credibility and access to new acquisition candidates, Hamptons Luxury Homes Management decided that the Company needed to become publicly traded. Unfortunately, this decision was not without some short-term costs.

As 40-year veterans of ultra-lux ury construction with more than 25 years of experience in the Hamptons, Company Management embarked on a reverse merger that resulted in its public listing on the OTC Bulletin Board. It sought 106 VALUE RICH MAGAZINE

es and creative financing solutions, public offering via reverse merger can also be expensive and all-consuming.

In 2006, the Company's auditing and professional fees, advisory, merger and regulatory costs totaled 16 percent of heightened selling, general and administrative fees, or $204,000. Combined with lower-than-usual revenues for the year resulting from management's focus on careful merger and regulatory requirements, the Company reported a net loss for 2006 of $177,000, versus the prior year's income of $1,542,000.

Dalene explains, "While public structure and regulatory compliance were important steps in the public process, a significant amount of human and capital resources were distracted from our core business, affecting both top- and bottom - line growth . As we refine our strategy to capitalize on core strengths and continue to grow service offerings and market share, we expect to resume profitability in the coming quarters."

With the reverse merger now complete and profitability once again on the horizon, management has refined its offerings and is implementing a number of comprehensive sales and marketing initiatives to ensure continued benefit to its core business.

Maintaining the edge "Owners of homes in the Hamptons have made investments that historically appreciate approximately 10 percent or more annually as long as that home is properly maintained;' says Dalene.

"Yet many of these homeowners are only in those homes on weekends, primarily during the summer season .

In conversations with our clients, we found that they spent a great amount of that time meeting with a variety of service providers for property maintenance because the market is highly fragmented :' Part-time residents account for 39 percent of the total homeowners and own 49 percent ofthe vacant land in the Hamptons. These second-home owners, who are looking for reliable, one-stop shopping for maintenance, upkeep and improvements to their luxury homes, create an attractive market opportunity for the Company.

To meet this demand, Hamptons Luxury Homes has launched an integrated property maintenance program, Join The iValueRich Community

which conso l idates all the service providers and individual maintenance contracts into one comprehensive property maintenance contract. This program opens new doors to further service the Company's existing clientele, while providing a one-stop full spectrum of offerings to the most demanding of homeowners. It also provides the Company with a recurring revenue stream .

In conjunction with this program's launch, Hamptons Luxury Homes recently formed strategic partnerships with four real estate firms and plans to include nearly every major realtor in the Hamptons. These agreements offer fully disclosed incentives to the region's realtors who sell either Hamptons Luxury Homes construction services or the Company 's all-inclusive service contracts.

This is the first-ever formal sales program implemented in the Hamptons and Management believes it will be a win-win proposition . Agents will have the opportunity to further serve their clients and generate additional income while the Company gains new sales leads generated by agents . Meanwhile, homeowners benefit from an all-inclusive contract and a single point of contact for repair, maintenance and upgrade, allowing them to avoid costly and time consuming service and repairs .

Recently reported sales activity and backlog figures are extremely encouraging and suggest that the Company's strategies are paying off. From January 1, 2007 to May 15, 2007, the date the Company filed its first quarter 10-Q, Hamptons Luxury Homes had commitments for $9 .06 million of work with a backlog that is projected to complete

by May 2008. They also reported bids outstanding for $11 .7 million of work and were in discussions with potential clients that could generate another $15.6 million of work.

While Management's immediate goal is to generate organic growth in current subsidiaries through the marketing and sales initiatives, it also plans to implement an acquisition strategy to acquire trade contractors such as plumbers, electricians, HVAC contractors and landscapers, who would be strategic additions to the Company's existing subsidiaries. These types of acquisitions www.

iVALUERICH .com

will also capture the income that was previously paid in the cost of goods sold during the construction of the home.

Beyond the Hamptons Over the long term, Hamptons Luxury Homes Management is looking beyond the Hamptons to create its nationwide footprint in the ultra-luxury, vacation and resort home market.

"While we've built our core business in the Hamptons and continue to see rising demand here, we have also identified several similar high -growth vacation and resort ultra-luxury markets, where we would expect the Hamptons Luxury Homes model to be equally successful," says Dalene.

There are at least 66 similar luxury vacation home markets across the country, such as Palm Beach, Cape Cod, Aspen, Telluride and Palm Springs where the world's wealthiest consumers own property. In these markets, as in the Hamptons, housing, construction and related services are always in high demand, but are offered mostly by specialized fragmented independent opera-

tions. Hamptons Luxury Homes expects to leverage its existing relationship with national real estate firms and its proven model to acquire a ultra- luxury homebuilder to enter these markets.

Fueled by baby boomers who are only now reaching their highest income levels, the vacation and resort luxury home markets have shown tremendous growth nationwide, even with today's declining primary housing and property real estate conditions, and still boast an upward trajectory that shows no sign of stopping anytime soon. We may not have to abandon the real estate boat just yet. Sometimes it pays to look just a little further. V R SPRING / SUMMER 2007 107

Hindsight is 20/20, especially in times of tragedy. The murders at Virginia Tech, the largest campus killing spree in our nation's history, is an open wound begging the question : How could this tragedy have been prevented, or at least stopped in its tracks? The answer can easily turn into a political seesaw. Those on the left urge for more gun control, and those on the right want the freedom to bear arms with less government interference. Security With Advanced Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: SWAT) is helping all parties achieve peace of mind by offering a diversified suite of non-lethal, highly effective security products and serv ices.

SWAT specializes in providing critical high-tech security products and services, including non - lethal personal protection devices, surveillance and intrusion detection systems, and mobile digital video surveillance solutions, to transportation , business , consumer personal protection, military and law

enforcement markets. More than 3,000 law enforcement agencies use SWAT's cutting-edge non-lethal products, training services and digital video surve illance systems.

Divide and conquer SWAT is undergoing a major transformation . Last year, the Company operated from a single business unit, ShiftWatch速, a digital video surveillance solution for public transportation and general security. With annual revenues approaching $300,000 for 2006, SWAT put on its game face to execute a strategy for aggressive top- and bottom-line growth. On December 31 , 2006, SWAT

defense device maker and distributor.

These acquisitions addressed the large unmet demand for affordable security solutio ns, including new entry into the civilian personal protection market. According to Laguna Research Partners, SWAT operates within the $44 billion private securities market. In addition to new products, the Company formed an internal top-notch training unit for military warfare and civilians called Veritas Tactical. SWAT's four business units are now organized into two divisions: Division X houses Avurt and Veritas, and the Technology Division houses Vizer Group and ShiftWatch.

In March 2007, the founder and president ofVizer Group, Scott Sutton, joined SWAT as its CEO. Sutton grew Vizer from a startup in mid-2002 to a solid seven-figure company with growth exceeding 450 percent since 2003. Sutton is uniquely qualified to spearhead the direction of the now rapidly growing SWAT. " Security means protecting two

"Security means protecting two things- people and places"

108 VALUERICH MAGAZINE

closed on two major acquis ition s: Vizer Group, a provider of converged , facilities-oriented security solutions, and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Avurt International, a non-lethal personal

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SafeMunitionsTM teaching pro-active measures that can save lives.

According to the Company, Veritas addresses a $1 .5billion-per-year force-onforce domestic training

things- people and places," says Sutton. "Most security companies focus on either facility-based solutions or mobile ones.

SWAT stands out as one of the few companies capable of doing both ."

He continues , "In a matter of six months, SWAT went from a single business unit to an integrated non-lethal personal protection and advanced security and automated solutions company that serves consumers, private security, business, government and law enforcement worldwide:'

'Avurting' an attack The patent-pending Avurt IM-5 launcher is a non-lethal, collapsible, handheld device that is as simple to use as a small paintball gun . With laserpoint accuracy, the Avurt fires projectiles up to 40 feet . The projectile breaks on impact and disperses a potent cloud of pepper spray, attacking all five senses and di sorienting the subject. Avurt's inhalant is up to fifteen times more powerful, and has six times the range and five times the stopping power of conventional aerosol pepper spray.

Avurt is also m o re durable, smaller and lighter than current handheld nonlethal security options, and is adaptable to a wide range of customers. This summer, the Company plans a full-scale launch of Avurt IM-5 to security personnel , animal control officers, delivery personnel and other consumers by securing online channels.

Veritas offers training systems and tools for law enforcement, military and civilians worldwide. They focus on decreasing potential liability, while www.iVALUER ICH com

market. Recently, the U.S .

Marines called upon Veritas for ground warfare techniques to prepare new deployments to Iraq. "It is rare for any branch of the armed services to seek instruction from a civilian, so serving the U.S. Marines was a new milestone for us and a testament to our programs," says Sutton.

In March of 2007, SWAT announced the launch of the SafeMunitionsTM unit, a conversion unit that will allow real firearms to safely fire marking and non-marking training projectiles. The product will enable law enforcement and military personnel to convert their weapon into a safe training tool. By converting their own weapon, the feel and trigger pull used in training is consistent with real life use. And, unlike competitors' products, the SafeMunitions unit features patent-pending technology that makes it impossible

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Security With Advanced Technology 10855 Dover St., Suite 1000 Westminster, CO 80021 P: 303-439-0372 www.swat-systems.com CONNECT

Heather Black P: 303-952-3434

terns, through a secure and easy-to-use Web site.

"CommandGrid is an ideal solution for any homeowner or business trying to protect their assets, while controlling costs," says Sutton . "We offer our stateof-the-art security protection services on a subscription basis, which helps our customers avoid the hefty capital start-up and maintenance costs with installing such a sophisticated system .

And we can build a predictable, recurring revenue stream ."

to load any liveammunitioninto the firearm. With the SafeMunition s unit projectiles considerably less expensive than current market products, the end result is a much safer and cheaper alternative.

Wireless to the rescue With a focus on network-centric technology and Web - hosted services, Vizer 's proprietary "CommandGrid" solution provides complete remote control over entry access, alarms and video sys-

ShiftWatch's mobile digital video surveillance solutions are used in public transportation such as buses and light and heavy railways. The ShiftWatch TVS 300, unveiled in late 2006, is currently being retooled to include patentpending video-streaming technology and GPS syn chronization ca pa bi I ities.

The Company is gearing up to introduce an improved performance product to meet government and law enforcement standards of data security and reliability. The current order backlog for ShiftWatch is $2.2 million, and will be recognized as revenues upon delivery, which is anticipated for later this year.

SWAT rounds out its innovative product offering with AgileMesh Rapidly Deployable Video SurveillanceTM systems . SWAT is an authorized reseller SPRING / SUMMER 2007

109

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of AgileMesh, which is currently in use by law enforcement agencies in four U.S. states. This facility-based solution provides industry-leading access and control during an emergency situation on campus, such as the one that occurred at Virginia Tech.

Police officers and other first-response units can view video images from fi xed cameras already installed in a facility and from mobile cameras that can be quickly deployed around any facility.

These images are transmitted wirelessly, securely and in real time to a patrol car and / or mobile command center. "SWAT is one of the first com panies to gain market traction for thi s type of cutting-edge facility wireless monitoring and security control system.

We provide a turnkey, fast on-demand delivery solution that brings the video and wireless mesh network equipment directly on-site to any building under siege or in crisis;' says Sutton.

SWAT's system can perform lockdowns on spe cific parameters of a facility, to prevent a crime or thwart a threat in progress. AgileMesh allows remote access to videos inside a defined danger zone, enabling those first responders on the scene to assess the situation while reducing risk and increasing the safety of others, whether inside or outside the building. SWAT recently demonstrated AgileMesh to 15 law enforcement agencies and school districts in Colorado, and the Company believes this is a big step toward making its solutions available to thousands of public and private schools nationwide.

security initiatives bodes well for SWAT. The Department of Homeland Security's proposed budget for fiscal 2007 is a record $42 .7 billion, and the Department of Defense budget approved an increase of nearly $30 billion, with as much as$ 170 billion earmarked for supplemental funds. SWAT's latest product, called the VT-MK series of non-lethal projectile launchers, is a "rifle version of the Avurt," specifically made for the military and law enforcement. The VT-MK holds more rounds, is more powerful and larger in size than its civilian counterpart, Avurt.

International markets, where guns

rity-related non-lethal protection products and services, and is pursuing a strong intellectual property position through patents.

While most competitors focus on one customer group and / or product line, SWAT has increased its future revenue and earnings potential significantly with its ability to serve numerous target markets.

In a post-9 / 1 1 world, consumers are more likely to take ownership of personal protection devices. To meet anticipated market demand, SWAT is in the final stages of developing the Avurt IM-S , slated for release in early summer. Additionally, a second-generation "CommandGrid " security solution is being prepared for release in the third quarter of 2007. The new version will add remote access to lights, heating and air conditioning, in addition to all of SWAT's advanced security features . This increased functionality will enable SWAT to enter new verticals, such as the multibillion-dollar consumer residential market.

In addition to steady law enforcement and military sales, consumer products such as Avurt and CommandGrid provide important catalysts for SWAT's future growth. Unfortunately, it takes events like the Virginia Tech massacre to shake up our consciousness and strengthen our resolve to institute new security solutions that offer superior alternative protection over lethal misfires. When it comes to any crisis situation, SWAT helps put the power of protection in the palms of our hands. V R

International markets, where guns are used less often, are particularly receptive to SWAT's non-lethal security measures.

Military launch Financial increases in national 110 VALUE RICH MAGAZI NE

are used less often, are particularly receptive to SWAT's non-lethal security measures. The Company recently signed international distribution agreements with Elite Information Systems in Nepal and with OcuSure Ltd., which will cover Europe and South Africa, to promote and distribute the SWAT line of products .

Projecting growth This year, SWAT has made tremendous strides in propelling its business into a multifaceted securities and non-lethal personal protection firm.

Through its four business units, SWAT offers a well-rounded portfolio of secu-

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can control, monitor, diagnose, sched ule and manage otherwise incompatible devices from a centralized system on a single desktop computer.

Industry paradigm shift "In an industry dominated by proprietary hardware for twenty years, Simtrol is leading the paradigm shift toward open architecture software solutions for device connectivity," says Richard W. Egan, President and Chief Executive Officer for Simtrol. Egan says Simtrol is "borrowing a page from Microsoft's playbook:' Egan points to Wang Laboratories, which introduced the world 's first wordprocessing system at $30,000 for a proprietary hardware/ software solution . A few years later, Microsoft succeeded in separating out the function (word processing) from the open hardware system . Leveraging IBM 's open PC hardware, Microsoft introduced software that drastically lowered the costs and increased the accessibility to acquire advanced computer technology.

In other industries , companies such as Sun Microsystems and Apple Computer, which have attempted to use proprietary hardware to protect margins, have historically been outsmarted by companies like IBM and Dell, which have embraced open architecture .

Current device control leaders use proprietary hardware to deliver device connectivity solutions. Simtrol is breaking new ground as an innovative company to offer command and control solutions using commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software . COTS is easily implemented, cost-effective and simple to use compared to hardware.

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In today's device-rich environment, the introduction of new technology is fast and furious. Touch-screen displays are showing up in airports, hotel room s, and shopping malls. Video camera technology is covertly watching over our cities. Hospital s are beeping and fla shing with digital monitors around every corner. High-definition TVs are brightening up our living rooms to bring us the experience of " being there." The seamless integration of plasm a/ LCD displays, digital cameras and audiovisual tools has become the very fabric of our life.

As rich -media devices flood the market and drive down costs, more compa112 VALUERICH MAGAZINE

nies are acquiring and relying on a host of devices to perform their daily operations. A typical multi-site organization utilizes a sophisticated audio, video and communications network. But with thousands of devices from different manufacturers operating on the inside, how are these systems managed in a uniform way on the outside? Software innovator Simtrol, Inc. (OTCBB: SMRL) is introducing a revolutionary solution. The Company develops and sells a unique form of device control software that ties devices to applications us ing open standard interfaces. Through its software platform OnGoer, companies

Finding the best option Organizations have three current options for controlling and manag ing their devices. The first option, and present industry standard , requires enterprises to purchase expensive proprietary hardware, such as touch panel screens and controllers, from a third party, locking them into a single vendor.

Costing upwards of $17,000 per touch panel, with several units needed and onsite technical support a must, organizational costs can quickly run into millions of dollars. This proprietary approach is labor intensive and costly to manage.

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Second, a company can develop its own device management software. In this case, veering away from its core business and having a lack of expertise in the area can create distinct disadvantages for the company. The third option is licensing Simtrol 's OnGoer to centrally control , monitor, diagnose and schedule all devices remotely using a PC as its hardware connectivity. As rich media applications proliferate, OnGoer offers the scalability and flexibility to control thousands of dissimilar devices in a virtually unlimited number of locations.

A number of Fortune 1000 corporations, government entities, educational systems and other end users are On Goer customers . Simtrol 's software platform is sold directly and through multiple channels, including professional system integrators, value-added resellers (VARs) and other distributors sup ported by the Company 's sales and technical support staff.

Mission-critical applications

OR equipment vendors is the replacement of proprietary architecture with an open PC architecture to control and monitor their advanced suite of devices . OR equipment providers can serve as Simtrol's VARS and also participate in product co-development initiatives.

"Together, we can become part of the solution to deliver greater technical fle xi bility, scalability and simplicity to increase the level of healthcare while lowering costs," says Egan .

In the government sector, Simtrol 's focus is on the courtroom. Overcrowded courts create dangerous and costly logistical problems in transporting and incarcerating offenders. Simtrol offers digital arraignment software called Curiax ArraignerTM ("Curiax") . By integrating multipoint videoconferencing, digital document management, digital signatures and evidence into a unified platform, Curiax substantially reduces the time and money associated with transporting prisoners to and from court for arraignment. With prisoners staying put, security levels improve and law enforcement costs decrease.

Curiax is derived from OakVideo, a successful implementation of this technology in Oakland County, Michigan, that proved that digital arraignment software works. Simtrol estimates the technology can save a large county over $15 million annually in arraign-

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ment costs.

Current digital arraignment sol utions tend to focus on the visual component, while ignoring the procedural paper trail. Curiax is a total solution that brings together the judge, county prosecutor, police officer and offender into a virtual courtroom. "Our inclusion of extensive workflow documents related to each case is what makes us unique," says Egan. Legal documents are delivered to the judge via a remote, secure

"Our immediate focus is on the launch of two mission-critical applications into the healthcare and government sectors;' says Egan.

In the healthcare industry, Simtrol is focused on the hospital operating room (OR) . When you consider that one min ute in the OR costs between $90 and $200, technology that can compress time spent in the OR is vital to hospitals. "OnGoer helps control healthcare costs and improve the cost efficiencies related to ex tremely timesensitive operations," says Egan . Thou sands of hospital s are now calling upon major advanced OR providers such as Stryker, Smith & Nephew, and Karl Storz to replace outdated operating room eq uipment with a suite of streamlined, easy-to-use and flexible audiovisual and diagnostic tools.

With 50,000 operating rooms in the United States, each containing 10 or more hardware devices, Simt rol estimates that the OR market represents a $300 million opportunity for its products.

Simtrol's core value to OR equipment vendors is the replacement of proprietary architecture with Simtrol 's core value to an open PC architecture to control and monitor their advanced suite of devices. www. iVALUERICH .com

SPRING/ SUMMER 2007 113

devices go, we can go. Our longer term growth plans include entering a total of seven to eight vertical markets:' On Goer can find its way into a number of applications and industries, including the manage ment of plasm a displays for the digital signage market; distance learning systems for global and at-home education; hotel room device control for the hospitality industry; and automated sy stems built into the residential housing market. "Some of the sales verticals we plan to penetrate will provide Simtrol's digital arraignment software, Curiax ArraignerTM, reduces the time and money associthe opportunity to build ated with transporting prisoners to and from court for arraignment. an application, and in others it will benefit us to achieve critical server to a PC and are available to view viewing . These products can then be o n-demand throughout the arraignsold as add-ons to the Curia x platform . mass through licensing our intellectual properties;' says Egan.

Simtrol has also partnered with Polycom ment. With over 3,000 counties in th e A visionary management team (NASDAQ: PLCM), a leader in unified col United States, Simtrol estimates the U.S. deeply rooted in the software induslaboration communications, to utilize market potential for Curia x Arraigner at try provides the expertise to carry out $500 million . their market-leading videoconferencSimtrol 's multifaceted growth strategies. ing platform .

Go-to-market strategy Recent appointments include Executive Simtrol recently inked chan nel partVice President of Operations William nerships with Science Applications While OnGoer is being licensed to the Joyce, who brings more than 20 years International Corporation (NYSE: SAl) healthcare indu stry, Curia x is attracting in senior operations indu stry-leading partnerships to drive and North American and professional Systems International multiple revenue streams. Simtrol ha s a services positions (NASI), an IBM Premier technology partnership with IBM (NYSE: II within large software IBM) to utilize its powerful WebSphere Business Partner, to enterprises includplatform and collaborate on new prodsell Curia x in county, ing MARC Global state and regional ucts based on the Curia x platform, such Holdings and Manhattan Associates as court recording and police intergovernments throughout the United (NASDAQ: MANH) . Craig Reamsnyder States. "SAIC & NASI will be instrumental in helping county governments save as joined as Senior Vice President of much as one million dollars per month Business Development , bringing 25 years of senior sales, marketing and by utilizing Curiax versus prior antiquatmanagement in the healthcare indu sed methods that can result in lost doctry, including American Hospital Supply umentation, risk to public safety, and and Ba xter International, and WebMD. large inefficiencies at ta xpayer expense," says Egan . "We are operating a scalable Richard Eaton joined as Senior Vice President of Sales, previously spending business model that will leverage pow25 years in software sales and manageerful alliance partners designed to rapment positions with Oracle, Tivoli , IBM idly build market share in significantly and Mercury Interactive. large, well-defined target markets:' Th rough his experience, Egan has Vertical integration learned that "proprietary hardware always gets beat out by software." With With a dual attack on the multibilliona talented management team and dollar U.S. healthcare and government proven software platform in place, Egan underway, Simtrol is working on the believes that Simtrol can readily prove next wave of vertical applications and his point. V R partnerships. Egan explains, "Wherever

"Wherever devices go, we can go ...

I 14 VALUERICH MAGAZIN E

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FGBF.PK : Other OTC ZUM : Frankfurt

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AARD :OTCBB

COMPANY OBJECTIVE: Raising Capital, Attract Market Exposure Across America is an equity partner providing 100% construction financing to retailers and developers seeking to expand their footprint. We provide capital and financial expertise to the expanding build-to-suit, small-box retail real estate construction market.

COMPANY OBJECTIVE: 1st Global Financial Corporation offers payment processing and provides working capital through its subsidiaries. These services include, credit and debit card acceptance, check guarantee, check verification, check conversion, ACH check processing, point of sales terminal sales and leasing, and working capital for merchants throughout the United States.

COMPANY DESCRIPTION

Formed in April 2003, Across America Real Estate Corp. is a publicly-traded (AARD.OB) provider of construction financing in the small box retail market space. Across America acts as the capital partner providing 100% of the financing required to complete a retail development. Key brands include Family Dollar, Starbucks, IHOP, Econolube, FedEx Kinko's and Lone Star Steakhouse.

COMPANY DESCRIPTION

1st Federal Financial provides a variety of corporate and merchant services to financial institutions, and leasi ng and sales of"point of sales" terminals. Through 1st Federal Advanced Funding, they have a novel approach of creating innovative funding products to fit clients' needs and situations, verses having clients' needs fit into a limited product. 1st Federal Leasing, LLC, provides leasing of POS Terminals to the merchant accounts.

COMPANY ADDRESS

4760 South Pecos Road Suite 103 Las Vegas, NV 89119 P: 866-418-1432 w ww.l stglobalfinancialcorp.com

COMPANY CONTACT Gil Gillis P: 866-418-1 GFC (1432) gil@l stgf.com

COMPANY ADDRESS 700 17th Street, Ste. 1200 Denver, CO 80202 www.aard.u s P: 888-285-4815 P: 303-893-1 003

IRCONTACTS James Farinella P: 908-204-0004 investor@icpihome.com

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COMPANY OBJECTIVE: Attract Market Exposure

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Chatsworth Data Solutions, Inc.

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AeroGrow International, Inc, developer of the AeroGarden"', the world 's first kitch en garden appliance, specializes in the development and marketing of advanced indoor gardening system s and accessories. The AeroGarden grows fresh herbs, salad greens, and tomatoes yea r-round, right in the kitch en with no dirt or gardening experience required . The AeroGarden is marketed via catalog and retail sales, infomercial s, and web marketing

COMPANY ADDRESS 6075 Longbow Drive Suite 200 Boulder, CO 80301 www.aerogrow.com P: 303-444-7755

118 VALUERICH MAGAZINE

IRCONTACT Justin Davis After Market Support 5251 DTC Parkway Suite 400 Greenwood Village, CO 80111 P: 720-489-5804

Ann Schmitt, CEO P: 303-290-7300 aschmitt@aard .us

IRCONTACT Jim Creamer, CFO P: 303-290-7302 jcreamer@aard.us

CI IATSW0RTI I

AGWI :OTCBB

AeroGrow International, Inc.

COMPANY CONTACT

N S

CHWD :OTCBB

COMPANY OBJECTIVE: The company's objectives are organic growth through expansion of marketing and sales efforts in vertical markets; expand strategic relationships with re-sellers and end-users; and strategic and synergistic acquisitions.

COMPANY DESCRIPTION

Chatsworth Data Solutions, Inc. is the parent company of Chatsworth Data Corporation. Founded in 1971 and located in Chatsworth, CA, Chatsworth Data has been tru sted worldwide for 35 years as a leading provider of innovative, highly accurate and economically priced intelligent data capture technology. These include optical mark readers and image scanning system s.

COMPANY ADDRESS

COMPANY CONTACT

20710 Lassen St Chatworth, CA 91311 www.chatsworthdata .com

Sid Anderson Chairman and Executive Director P: 818-341 -9200

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CCBEF : OTCBB

Clearly Canadian Beverage Corp.

COMPANY OBJECTIVE: Effectively expand revenue and eventually profitability through the increased distribution of existing product lines, introduction of exciting new product lines and strategic acquisitions. To build name recognition in the natural, organic and healthy market sectors as a "good for you" company.

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CBLI : NASDAQ

COMPANY OBJECTIVE: Attract Market Exposure Cleveland BioLabs is generating excitement with a potential Department of Defense contract for its lead radiation protection compound, an ongoing Phase II clinical trial for its oral anti-cancer compound; and animal data on its stem cell application.

COMPANY DESCRIPTION

COMPANY DESCRIPTION

Clearly Canadian Beverage Corporation markets premium alternative beverages, including Clearly Canadian., sparkling flavored waters and Clearly Canadian dailyEnergy, dailyVitamin and dailyHydration Natural Enhanced Waters Clearly Canadian's recent acquisition's of DMR Food Corporation with a wide range of dried fruit and nut snacks offerings, and My Organic Baby with a complete Natural and Organic baby food line marks the Company's debut into natural and organic products.

COMPANY ADDRESS

IRCONTACT

2267 1Oth Avenue West Vancouver, B.C. Canada V6K 2J1 www.clearly.ca

Steve Cook Investors Matrix Group P: 561-549-0887 scook@investorsmatrixgroup.com

COMPANY CONTACT

Brent Lokash President blokash@clearly.ca

Cleveland BioLabs, Inc. is a drug discovery and development company leveraging its proprietary discoveries about programmed cell death to treat cancer and protect normal tissues from exposure to radiation and other stresses. The Company has strategic partnerships with the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, ChemBridge Corporation and the Armed Forces Research Radiobiology Institute.

COMPANY ADDRESS

IRCONTACT

11000 Cedar Avenue, Suite 290 Cleveland, OH 44106-3052 www.cbiolabs.com

Rachel Levine The Global Consulting Group P: 646-284-9439 rlevine@hfgcg.com

COMPANY CONTACT

Michael Fonstein, Ph.D President & CEO P: 216-229-2251 michael@cbiolabs.com

l:~nt:inent:al ENERGY

CORPORATIOI\l

CPPXF : OTCBB

Continental Energy Corporation

COMPANY OBJECTIVE: Raising Capital Continental Energy Corporation is seeking funding in the $5 - 10 million range to enable the Company to obtain additional exploration and/ or development block during 2007. Continental has identified several attractive areas and intends to obtain one or more exploration blocks during Fall 2006.

DotVN, Inc.

DTVI.PK :OtherOTC

COMPANY OBJECTIVE: Develop New Business Dot VN generates revenue from sales made directly to customers through its primary website, through its offices in Vietnam, as well as indirectly through our large network of resellers.

COMPANY DESCRIPTION COMPANY DESCRIPTION

Continental Energy Corporation is an independent international oil and gas exploration company focused entirely on making a major oil or gas discovery. Continental has a production sharing contract with the Indonesian government which gives the Company exclusive petroleum exploration and production rights for the highly prospective 900,000 acre Bengara-11 Block, located in East Kalimantan, Indonesia.

COMPANY ADDRESS

IRCONTACT

14001 Dallas Parkway, Suite 1200 Dallas, Texas 75240 www.continentalenergy.com

Alan Stone & Company, Ltd P: 212-521-4102 alanstone1 @earthlink.com

Dot VN is a leading provider of services that enable individuals and businesses to establish and maintain an online presence in Vietnam . We provide domain name registration and website hosting services as well as hardware, software and communications services. Our services are designed to provide our customers with an end to end business solution for all their technology, online marketing and communication needs.

COMPANY ADDRESS

9449 Balboa Ave. #114 San Diego, CA 92123 www.dotvn.com

IRCONTACT Gary Thompson P: 858-204 -4810 gary@hi-tek.com

COMPANY CONTACT

James D. Eger, CFO P: 972-934-6774 F: 972-934-6718 jdeger@continentalenergy.com www . iVALUERICH .com

SPRING / SUMMER 2007 119

The VALUE

Market lace

EMRISE

@£®talitY ECOtality, Inc.

CORPORATION

ETLY :OTCBB

EMRISE Corporation

COMPANY OBJECTIVE: ECOtality strives to develop and commercialize technologies to make them available to manufacturing companies across the globe. Revenues are derived from licensing fees, joint ventures , and royalties that will fund the development of additional cutting-edge clean technologies.

COMPANY DESCRIPTION

ECOtality, Inc. is a technology innovator that addresses the global energy challenge by developing and commercializing ecofriendly technologies.Through the acquisition of, partnership with and investment in early stage renewable energy technologies, ECOtality is focused on bringing innovative eco-friendly concepts to practical commercialization . The company 's aggressive development model is strengthened by strategic partnerships and alliances, as ECOtality strives to accelerate the market applicability and acceptance of clean technologies.

COMPANY ADDRESS

IRCONTACT

6821 E. Thomas Rd Scottsdale, AZ 8S251 www.ecota Iity.co m

Rick Gean, Pilot Financial Communications Network for ECOtality info@pilotfcn .com

ENEI: OTCBB

COMPANY OBJECTIVE: Raising Capital Ener1 is raising capital to fund the remaining R&D efforts to complete the working prototype of the Lithium ion battery for HEV and to fund the product launch of a fuel cell product during 2007.

COMPANY DESCRIPTION

Ener1 , Inc. is an alternative energy technology company with principal businesses in 1) lithium ion battery development for electric (EV) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), 2) fuel cell products and services, and 3) nanotechnology-based materials including applications for battery development.

COMPANY ADDRESS

COMPANY CONTACTS

500 West Cypress Creek Road Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309 P: 9S4-S56-4020 www.ener1 .com

Charles Gassenheimer Vice Chairman P: 212-920-3500 Cgassenheimer@ener1 .com

IRCONTACT

Gerard Herlihy P: 9S4-556-4020 Jherlihy@ener l .com

120 VALUERICH MAGAZINE

COMPANY OBJECTIVE: Mergers & Acqusition, Market Support EMRISE intends to capitalize on its new generation multi-media "In-Flight Entertainment and Communications" product offering for electronic devices. The Company plans to achieve number two market position for its new "NetworkTiming and Synchronization" communications products in the U.S. and European market.

EMRISE is seeking a merger partner of equals to expand its revenue base from $SSM in 2007 to over $1OOM. COMPANY DESCRIPTION

EMRISE Corporation is a multi-national manufacturer of defense, aerospace and industrial electronic devices and communication s equipment. EMRISE serves the North American, European and Asian electronic market out of facilities in the United States, England, France and Japan.drug development timelines.

COMPANY ADDRESS

IRCONTACT

9485 E. Haven Avenue, Suite 100 Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730 www.emrise.com

Kristen Sharkey Hill & Knowlton P: 212-88S-0354

COMPANY CONTACT

Gale Belger P: 909-942-3202

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ERI : NYSEArca

Ajit Habbu CFO P: 954-5S6-4020 ahabbu@ener1 .com

EnXnet, Inc.

EXNT :OTCBB German WKN# AOHMDW

COMPANY OBJECTIVE: Develop New Business Quickly expand revenue through the introduction of products and technologies into the marketplace, focusing on : • ThinDisc © -Transform "stagnant" gih and stored value cards into multimedia marketing tools.

• OneDisc'M- Dual sided CD/ DVD. • Medicai-D-Teet-OR- Save billions by reducing hospitalization, operating room and other costs.

COMPANY DESCRIPTION

EnXnet is an emerging developer and licensee of leading edge technologies in the areas of interactive and dual sided digital media, security/ anti theft products and medical technologies.

En Xnet has assembled one of the most impressive portfolios consisting of more than ten products and technologies, together with over ten patents which have been applied for and are currently pending. En Xnet's products and technologies address $3 trillion in combined global markets.

COMPANY ADDRESS

COMPANY CONTACT

11333 E Pine Street Tulsa, OK. 74116 P: 918-592-0015 F: 918-592-0016 www.enxnet.com

Integrated Capital Ryan Corley, Partners, Inc President & CEO investor@en xnet.com P: 908-204-0004

IRCONTACT

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Innovative e-mail solutions that enhance traditional email communication.

It's

INCREDIMAIL!

Over 70 million registered downloads from over 100 countries Over 1 million registered downloads per month Over 10 million active users Over 300 million lncrediMail emails sent monthly Over 1 million products and subscriptions sold

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Epicus Communications Group, Inc.

COMPANY OBJECTIVE: To grow its subscriber base with its full suite of local and long distance voice services, new Voice over Internet Protocol (VoiP) services, and digital voice messaging for residential and small business customers through its Freedom Rings service brands.

COMPANY DESCRIPTION

Epicus Communications is a Florida-based telecommunications company that provides local exchange and VoiP services to small business (SOHO) and residenti al customers. EPCG has a 5-year operating history and 9,050 access landlines located in seven southeastern US states. EPCG's in-house development of proprietary software technologies enables it to provide fully automated, network services to its customers.

COMPANY ADDRESS

IRCONTACTS

610 Crescent Executive Ct. Suite 300 Lake Mary, FL 32746 www.epicus.com

Gil Sharell P: 888-746-5440 investorrelations@sharell .com

COMPANY CONTACT

Tom Donaldson P: 561-688-0440 tdonaldson @epicus.com

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FCTOA : OTCBB

FACT Corporation COMPANY OBJECTIVE: Raising Capital

FACT Corporation is seeking a suitable banking relationship to execute its initiatives for accelerated growth. The Company seeks funds to implement a detailed business plan including substantial marketing and sales efforts, branded product introductions and product development initiatives.

COMPANY DESCRIPTION

FACT Corporation develops, licenses, and markets proprietary nutrition solutions in the form of specialty commercial bake mixes. The Company's primary customers are bakeries that use its mixes to manufacture and distribute popular baked goods (such as muffins, bagels, cookies, and brownies) designed for a rapidly growing consumer marketplace focused on quality, tate, and most importantly, nutrition. Finished products containing the Company's ingredients are marketed via both conventional and alternative distribution channels, including branded and private label retail opportunities, as well as foodservice and specialty COMPANY ADDRESS

COMPANY CONTACT

1530 9th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta T2G OT7 Canada www.factfoods.com

Jacqueline Danforth, CEO P: 403-693-8004 IRCONTACT

Caroline Winsor P: 888-211-7181 x8005

foldera路 FORA: OTCBB

Foldera, Inc. COMPANY OBJECTIVE: Atract Market Exposure,

Develop New Business Upon launching the Foldera platform, the Company is looking to attract customers, gain market awareness, and drive topline revenue towards profitability. Strategic Alliances will allow Foldera to launch new verticals and associated product lines.

COMPANY DESCRIPTION

Foldera is a software company that has developed an online organizational platform designed to instantly organize workflow into one convenient and integrated application . Document storage, email, event notification, file sharing, administration and other functions are all incorporated into this one simple web based platform . The basic Foldera platform is free and the Company will earn revenues from paid premium services.

Genoillnc.

GNOLF : OTCBB

COMPANY OBJECTIVE: Increase Market Awareness COMPANY DESCRIPTION

Genoil's primary technology is the Hydroconversion Upgrader (GHUTM), a proprietary upgrading process that offers a solution to the worldwide shortage of light oil and the increasing production of heavy and non-conventional crudes by purifying the heavy oil and recycling the refinery residues, converting them into usable higher quality synthetic light crude conducive to produce clean transportation fuels, such as low sulfur and ultra-low sulfur gasoline and diesel.

COMPANY ADDRESS

IR CONTACT

COMPANY ADDRESS

COMPANY CONTACT

17011 Beach Blvd.

Suite 1500 Huntington Beach, CA 92647 www.foldera.com

Stephen Gjolme IBIS Consulting Group P: 949-852-8474 info@ibisnest.com

Suite 2020 633 -6th Avenue SW Calgary, Alberta T2P 2Y5 Canada www.genoi I. net

David K. Lifschultz Chairman and CEO P: 403-750-3450 F: 403-290-0592 ir@genoil.net

COMPANY CONTACT

Hugh Dunkerley, VP Corporate Finance P: 714-766-8737 hdunkerley@foldera.com 122 VALUERICH MAGAZINE

Join The iValueRich Community

Meet the experts on Corporate Governance and Risk Management services.

If you need to address the requirements of Corporate Governance, Risk Management or Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, no one is more qualified to help than the Baker Tilly International network.

We have representatives throughout the world. The firms listed here have extensive experience in all aspects of corporate governance and risk management services including specific expertise in Sarbanes-Oxley compliance.

Amper, Politziner & Mattia New York, New York Edward Valaitis valaitis@amper.com 732-287-1000

Cherry, Bekaert & Holland LLP Raleigh, North Carolina 919-781-1040 7131 Michelle Thompson mthompson@cbh.com

Baker Tilly London , United Kingdom 44 (207) 413 5100 David Robbins david.robbins@bakertilly.co.uk

Eisner LLP New York , New York 212-949-8700 Neil Goldenberg ngoldenberg@eisnerllp.com

Baker Tilly Berk Amsterdam , The Netherlands 31 (20) 569 2777 Rainer Steger rsteger@bakertillyberk.com

Frank, Rimerman & Co, LLP Palo Alto, California 650-845-8161 Mike Knowles mknowles@frankrimerman.com

Baker Tilly Brasil Sao Paulo, Brazil 55 (11) 5504-3800 Osvaldo Nieto onieto@btbr.com.br

Katz, Sapper & Miller, LLP Indianapolis, Indiana 317-580-2000 Mike Lee mlee@ksmcpa.com

Baker Tilly France Paris, France 33 (1) 46 60 70 90 Gerard Emard gerard.emard@harmonybti.com

Meyers Norris Penny LLP Calgary, Alberta, Canada 403-537-8429 Gordon Chan gordon.chan@mnp.ca

Virchow, Krause & Company, LLP Minneapolis, Minnesota 952-351-4884 Lisa Hauser lhauser@virchowkrause.com

Baker Tilly Hong Kong Hong Kong 852 9800 6933 Doman Wong domanwong@bakertillyhk.com

Parente Randolph, LLC Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 215-972-2392 Dave Naser dnaser@parentenet.com

Vitale, Caturano & Company, Ltd. Boston, Massachusetts 617-912-9000 Nancy Aubrey nancy.aubrey@vitale.com

Baker Tilly TFWLCL Singapore 65 6336 2828 Sim Guan Seng guanseng@tfwlcl.com

The Rehmann Group Jackson, Mississippi 517-787-6503 Kirk Balcom kbalcom@rehmann.com

Weaver and Tidwell, LLP Dallas, Texas 972-490-1970 Alyssa Marlin agmartin@weaverandtidwell.com

Beers & Cutler Washington, DC 703-923-8251 Raina Rose Tagle rrosetagle@beersandcutler.com

RubinBrown LLP St. Louis, Missouri 314-290-3300 Steve Newstead steve.newstead@rubinbrown.com

Baker Tilly International is a network of high quality, independent accountancy firms.

We are the 8th largest network in the world by combined fee income of our independent members and are represented by 126 firms in 93 countries, with a combined global income of $2.3bn and 22,000 staff worldwide. With a global reach through our independent member firms we provide advice in all major business communities.

We offer expert technical guidance which includes a wide range of specialists on every continent in which we do business.

World Headquarters, 2 Bloomsbury Street, London WC1 B 3ST, United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)20 7314 6875 Fax: +44 (0)20 7314 6876 info@bakertillyinternational .com Baker Tilly is a trademark of the UK firm Baker Tilly UK Group LLP, used under licence

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HOW2VACAli N.COM intelligentias -

How2Group International, Inc.

Private

COMPANY OBJECTIVE: Raising Capital How2 Group seeks funding to accelerate its growth and expand its market position.

lntelligentias, Inc.

ITLI :OTCBB

COMPANY OBJECTIVE: Raising Capital, Mergers & Acquisitions, and Develop New Business COMPANY DESCRIPTION

COMPANY DESCRIPTION

How2Vacation.com launched in January, 2005 and has developed a prominent market position in the online Travel sector. In approximately two years, How2 is not only profitable and debt free, but has become one of the most frequently visited websites on the internet, ranking 2,949 in the United States as of March 14, 2007(Aiexa.com). How2Vacation.com provides its advertisers with an alternative to the commission based (and cost per click) travel sites by creating a unique flat fee advertising model within a full service comprehensive travel site COMPANY ADDRESS

IR CONTACT

3317 NW 1Oth Terrace Suite 405 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309 www.how2vacation.com

Bill Provost WJP P: 954-899-6343

COMPANY CONTACT

Stephen Lustig President P: 954-537-1107

lntelligentias, Inc. expects to become a global data-intelligence conglomerate. Using a worldwide network, we intend to market Homeland Security products to Law Enforcement Agencies, Telcos and ISPs in order to prevent terrorism, cyber-crime, and child exploitation. Our portfolio company, Retentia, Inc. sells Data Retention, Tracking and Forensics software to some of the largest organizations in the world. Our portfolio company, lnvestigatia, Inc., which will be launched later in 2007, will be our data investigation company. lnvestigatia intends to focus on fraud, identity theft, identity authentication and verification.

Our portfolio company, lnterceptia, Inc., which will be launched later in 2007, will be our Lawful Intercept Company. lnterceptia intends to focus on Legal Interception of telecommunications by law enforcement authorities (LEA's) and intelligence services.

COMPANY ADDRESS

COMPANY CONTACT

303 Twin Dolphin Dr. Suite 600 Redwood City, CA 94065 P: 650-632-4526 www.intelligentias.com

Luigi Caramico P: 650-888-2083 Luigi.caramico@intelligentias.com

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ISEC :OTCBB

KRBF : OTCBB

Kreido Biofuels, Inc.

COMPANY OBJECTIVE: Focus on top line growth and market penetration . Expand produc and service offerings to address new markets and applications.

Seek strategic alliances in order to accelerate growth

COMPANY OBJECTIVE: Attract Market Exposure Kreido Biofuels is in the fast-growing biodiesel industry, still in its infancy in the United States. We intend to move aggressively to exploit our biodiesel and process intensification technology for the the benefit of shareholders, consumers, and licensees.

COMPANY DESCRIPTION

Kreido Biofuels is providing the world renewable energy through its proprietary process intensification technology - the STT'M. Our manufacturing methods significantly improve the efficiency, quality, and process control of biodiesel production. To build a sustainable future, our goal is to provide the industry cutting edge technology that improves the manufacturing of biofuels. The Company's senior management has over 50 years of experience in the energy sector including the design, construction, operation, and management of petroleum refining, natural gas distribution, and chemical processing facilities.

iSECUREtrac Corp. provides state-of-the-art electronic monitoring technology and outsourced services which offer federal , state and local agencies effective solutions for community supervision, compliance monitoring and case management. The company's full-service solution s include electronic monitoring system s and monitoring center support, as well as outsourced pretrial, probation and parole. Electronic monitoring systems from iSECUREtrac provide a supervising officer a rich stream of reliabl e data concerning an individual 's location, movement or status.

COMPANY ADDRESS

IR CONTACTS

Dave Vana CFO P: 866-537-0022

1140 Avenida Acaso Camarillo, CA 93012 www.kreido.com info@kreido.com

John Mills, jmills@icrinc.com Ina McGuinness, lna@icrinc.com P: 31 0-954-11 00

IR CONTACT INFO

COMPANY CONTACT

PRCONTACT

Ron Both Liolios Group, Inc. P: 949-574-3860

Joel A. Balbien, Ph.D., Pres/ CEO P: 805-389-3499 joel@kreido.com

Denica Gordon P: 323-253-9337 dgprconsulting@aol.com

COMPANY ADDRESS

COMPANY CONTACT

5078 S. 111th Street Omaha, NE 68137 www.isecuretrac.com

124 VALUERICH MAGAZIN E

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NEW AIR CONDITIONED FACILITY- FACTORY TRAINED TECHNICIANS TRACK EVENTS & SUPPORT COMPANY OWNED ENCLOSED CARRIER AUTO BOUTIQ!)E FERRARI & LAMBORGHINI DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEMS ON THE PREMISES MAKE AN APPOINTMENT FORA FREE DIAGNOSTIC TEST AUTO DETAILING PRE- PURCHASE INSPECTIONS

The VALUE

Market lace

LORUS

l~~lEC0RE

H E A L TH

th e r a p e u t ics

T E C H NOLOGIES

Livecore Health Technonlogies, LLC

Private

COMPANY OBJECTIVE: Strategic merger, partnership, joint venture or acquisition .

COMPANY DESCRIPTION

Livecore Health Technologies, LLC is a newly formed venture engaged in the distribution of healthcare (well ness) products and services. The company will engage in the physical distribution of th e products themselves, intellectual dist ribution of information about them and invest in and or acquire well ness companies. The Company's goal is to become a leader in the well ness revolution.

I COMPANY ADDRESS 101 NE 3rd Ave. Suite 1500 Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33301 www.livecorellc.com

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COMPANY CONTACT

Michael Scott CEO P: 800-376-1744

Lorus Therapeutics, Inc.

LRP : AMEX LOR : TSX

COMPANY OBJECTIVE: Develop New Business We are actively seeking strategic alliances and collaborations that will complement our internal efforts and product development strategy. Our goal is to ensure that all of our technology platforms are under active development through the use of licensing & partnerships COMPANY DESCRIPTION

Lorus Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, R&D of innovative and effective anticancer therapies with high safety profiles. Lorus has products in all stages of development; from pre-clinical through Phase Ill trials that address large market opportunities in the treatment of cancer. Lorus' robust pipeline includes antisense, small molecule compounds, immunotherapeutics, siRNA and gene therapy technologies.

COMPANY ADDRESS

IRCONTACT

2 Meridian Road, Toronto, Ontario Canada M9W 4Z7 www.lorusthera.com

Saeid Babaei, PhD, MBA Associate Director, Corporate Affairs P: 416-798-1200, x490 F: 416-798-2200 sbabaei@lorusthera.com

COMPANY CONTACT

Aiping Young, MD, PhD, Pres/CEO P: 416-798-1200, x379 ahyoung@lorusthera .com

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PENDING : NASDAQ

COMPANY OBJECTIVE: Raising Capital, Mergers & Acqui sition s, Develop New Business, or Attract Market Supply and Exposure NexGen's objective is to form strategic relationships in order to raise capital and increase market share. Our mission is to become a leading producer of alternative fuels and to be set apart by th e way we treat our partners, shareholders and employees.

COMPANY DESCRIPTION

NexGen Biofuels is in the discovery stage of developing four ethanol plants and one bio-diesel plant in four states. The plants will be built in two phases, with the first phase yielding two ethanol plants and the bio-diesel plant and the second phase yielding two more ethanol plants. Each facility will produce 100-million gallon s per year of its respective fuel.and chemical process ing faciliti es.

COMPANY ADDRESS

COMPANY CONTACT

2533 Windguard Circle Suite 102 Tampa, FL 33543 www.nexgenbiofuels.net

Jim McAiinden Chief Operating Officer P: 813-929-4802 jim@nexgenbiofuels.net

126 VALUERICH MAGAZ INE

OnstreamT M >>>>>>>>>> MEDIA Onstream Media Corporation

ONSM : NASDAQ

COMPANY OBJECTIVE: Attract Market Awareness Onstream Media's objective is to enhance trading perfo rmance through open market support and liquidity by building on its existing, diverse shareholder base.

COMPANY DESCRIPTION

Onstream Media is a leading online service provider of live, on-demand digital media communications and applications.

Onstream's Digital Media Services Platform provides customers with tools for webcasting, web-conferencing, webinars, managing digital assets and hosting and publishing content online including audio and video files. Onstream's services are focu sed on increasing productivity while reducing capital expenditures and operational costs. 78% of Fortune 100 executives and almost half of Fortune 1000 compan ies use or have used Onstream Media's services. Customers include: AOL, Discovery Education, Disney, MGM, Deutsche Bank, Rodale Inc, Thomson Financiai/CCBN , and the U.S. Government.

COMPANY ADDRESS

IRCONTACT

Onstream Media Corp.

1291 Sw 29th Avenue Pompano Beach, FL 33069 P: 954-917-6655 www.onstreammedia.com

Gary Geraci, President Equity Performance Group P: 617-723-2373 gary@equityperfgp.com www.equityperformancegroup.com

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INTRODUCING - - - - - - - - A GLOBAL PROBLEM-------- o

o TH I Nnr I CJ Act

ICEROCKS SPRING WATER ICE CUBES UAOY'

ro nun:

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 8o% of all sickness in the world is attributable to unsafe water and sanitation. As a result, water-related diseases kill millions of people annually.

Ice served in restaurants, bars and available at tourist destinations around the world often contains fecal coliform or E.coli bacteria.

"Fecal matter in ice is a serious problem [Notes Jennifer Berg, Head of the Graduate Department of Food and Science Nutrition at New Yo rk University]. Ice can hold bacteria that makes you just as sick as anything else you eat. Tainted ice is usually a result ofhaving E. coli, fecal matter inside the ice."

Source : "Enough to Make You Sick," Heidi Collins, CNN f Anderson Cooper 360, June 21 , 2005

In a study by seventh-grader, Jasmine Roberts, comparing ice samples from fast food restaurants with samples of toilet water collected at those same restaurants, lab tests performed by the University of South Florida showed toilet water contained less bacteria than ice 70% ofthe time.

Source : "Unappetizing Experiment Sizzles in Media," Melissa Mixon, USA TODAY, March 22, 2oo6, 7D

TH E NEw IcE AGE

ICEROCKS SPRING WATER ICE CUBES

PRODUCED FOR WBOA ~~nk,~~ ESPIRITO SANTO PlAZA; 1395 BRICKELL AVENUE : SUITE 1020 : MIAMI, FL 33131 : USA T: 786.597.5282 F: 786.513.0858 E: SALES@ICEROCKS.COM WWW.ICEROCKS.COM

The VALUE

PBI Pressure BioSciences, Inc.

Market lace Pressure BioSciences Inc. PBIO : NASDAQ

COMPANY OBJECTIVE: Raise market and investor awareness of Pressure BioSciences, Inc. and of our patented, enabling Pressure Cycling Technology (PCT) product line.

COMPANY DESCRIPTION PBI is a publ icly traded, early-stage company focused on the development of a novel technology called Pressure Cycling Technology (PCT) . PCT uses cycles of hydrostatic pressure between ambient and ultra-high level s to control bio-molecular interactions. PBI currently holds 13 US and 4 foreign patents covering multiple applications of PCT in the life sciences field, including in such areas as genomic and proteomic sample preparation, pathogen inactivation, control of enzymes, immunodiagnostics, and protein purification . PBI owns a 30% passive investment in Source Scientific, LLC, an instrumentation company that develops and manufactures PSI's PCT equipment, as well as a passive investment in Panacos Pharmaceuticals, an antiviral drug discovery and development company.

COMPANY ADDRESS 321 Manley Street West Bridgewater, MA 02379 P: 508-580-1 818 www.pressurebiosciences.com

COMPANY CONTACTS RichardT. Schumacher, President & CEO Edward Myles, Sr. VP of Finance & CFO info@pressurebiosciences.com

i1 puredepthTM M JLTI-l/IYFH DISPL/IY""

PureDepth, Inc.

PDEPE : OTCBB

COMPANY OBJECTIVE: Develop new business opportunities in the LCD monitor, television, mobile phone, handheld entertainment, and public information display markets. Enhance technology platform with potential mergers and acquisitions of supplemental technologies COMPANY DESCRIPTION PureDepth is an innovative technology licensing company transforming the visual display experience by delivering awardwinning technology. Backed by 46 granted patents and over 70 pending patents, this breakthrough in visualization is the first display technology that provides real depth. The company has licensing agreements with International Game Technology (NYSE: IGT), Sanyo Corporation (NASDAQ: SANYY), and DRS Technologies (NYSE: DRS).

COMPANY ADDRESS 255 Shoreline Drive Suite610 Redwood City, CA 94065 www.puredepth.com

COMPANY CONTACT Laura Diaz P: 650-632-0800 laura.diaz@puredepth.com IRCONTACT John Stiles P: 314-994-0560 investor-relations@puredepth .com

........ ~

SAMSON

OIL & GAS N.L.

QuoteMedia, Inc.

QMCI : OTCBB

COMPANY OBJECTIVE: Develop New Business, Attract Market Exposure Having achieved two years of being cash flow positive and 15 consecutive quarters of revenue growth, the Company will continue to increase its top line revenue growth through capturing market share within the data feed , Mobile/ PDA and financial software application markets.

COMPANY DESCRIPTION QuoteMedia is a leading provider of financial stock market data, related research information, and financi al software solutions to online brokerages, clearing firms, banks, public corporations, and web portals. The Company's innovation and diversity of technical expertise, agile responsiveness, and proven commitment to superior delivery t echnologie s have est ablished Quot eMedia as a clear frontrunner in the financial data provider industry.

COMPANY ADDRESS 17100 Shea Blvd, Suite 230 Fountain Hills, AZ 85268 www.quotemedia.com COMPANY CONTACT

Dave Shworan, Pres/ CEO QuoteMedia, Ltd. P: 877-311-991 1 ext . 101 dave@quotemedia.com 128 VALUERICH MAGAZIN E

IR CONTACTS Keith Guelpa, Pres/ CEO QuoteMedia, Inc. P: 480-905-41 16 kguelpa @quotemedia.com TTC Group of New York Contact: Vic Allgeier P: 646-290-6400

vic@ttcominc.com

Samson Oil & Gas Limited

SSN: ASX

COMPANY OBJECTIVE: Samson intends to grow its oil and gas production through acquisitions and the development of its existing proven undeveloped reserve base, along with the development of the Baxter Shale, which is emerging as an important new fractured gas play in the Rockies region.

COMPANY DESCRIPTION Samson Oil and Gas Limited is an oil and gas exploration and development company that operates in the United States and is traded on the Australian Stock Exchange. Samson initiated its curent strategy in late 2004 with a scrip-based takeover of U.S. company Kestrel Energy. The Company acquired additional production in the Rocki es in May 2006 and is adding to its oil production portfolio through extension drilling and further acquisitions.

COMPANY ADDRESS 1726 Cole Blvd.

Suite210 Lakewood, CO 80401 www.samsonoilandgas.com

COMPANY CONTACT Terry Barr Chief Executve Officer P: 970-389-5047 IRCONTACT Alan Stone Alan Stone & Associates P: 561-676-6048 Join The iValueRich Community

fgCCEiiiE

Global Chinese Financial Forum

Global Capital Market.

China Projects.

Excellent Networking & Business-Matching Opportunities.

Gilbert Ohan Sales & Sponsorship gll@gcff.ca

Fornla Lau Media & General Inquiries fornla@goff,ca

1-866-833-5517

The VALUE

Market lace

Security With Advanced Technology Seamless Wi-Fi, Inc.

SLWF : OTCBB

COMPANY OBJECTIVE: Develop New Business, Attract Market Exposure To establish Seamless Wi -Fi and its subsidiaries as profitable providers of internet products and services including ultra mobile computing/ communications devices, Wi-Fi service provision, secure encryption and P2P networking and collaboration software; secure hosting services, digital rights management and a secure social network.

COMPANY DESCRIPTION

Seamless Skyy-Fi is setting the standard in "Secure Internet Browsing" with the pending launch of its new SlnB(TM) Wi-Fi encryption software program. Seamless Peer 2 Peer has launched Phenom(TM) V3.0, its Secure Enterprise Collaboration software suite, which provides SOX, HIPAA and FIPS 140-2 compliant internet communications over the web. Seamless Internet has created the S-XGen(TM) Ultra Mobile PC that combines portability, connectivity and processing power for the mobile business, education and first responders markets.

COMPANY ADDRESS

COMPANY CONTACTS

SOON, Rainbow Blvd, Suite 208 Las Vegas, NV 89107 www.slwf.net

Albert Reda, CEO Seamless Wi-Fi Inc.

IRCONTACT

John Domerego, President Seamless Internet Inc. P: 775-588-2387

Richard Schineler P: 941 -918-1913

COMPANY OBJECTIVE: Attract Market Exposure Convince institutional investors that Senetek's market capitalization does not reflect the underlying value of its existing commercial agreements and product pipeline.

COMPANY DESCRIPTION

Senetek PLC is a life sciences product development company with an extensive array of intellectual properties covering in excess of 2,000 patented and patent applied for compounds and uses targeting the science of aging to include skincare and dermatological therapeutics, erectile dysfunction, nutrition and cancer. Our mission is to be a leader in the development and commercialization of life sciences technology and to bring at least one new product to market each year.

COMPANY ADDRESS

IRCONTACTS

831A Latour Court Napa, CA 94558 www.senetekplc.com

KCSA Worldwide Todd Fromer P: 212-896-1215 tfromer@kcsa.com

COMPANY CONTACT

Corena Michnevich 707-226-3900 ext . 109 corena@senetek.net 130 VALUERICH MAGAZIN E

COMPANY DESCRIPTION

Security With Advanced Technology, Inc. is a leading provider of mission critical high tech security products and services, which include non-lethal personal protection devices, surveillance, intrusion detection systems and mobile digital video surveillance solutions. SWAT's products and services are designed for government agencies, military and law enforcement, as well as transportation, commercial facilities and non-lethal personal protection segments.

COMPANY ADDRESS

IR CONTACTS

10855 Dover St., Suite 1000 Westminster, CO 80021 www.swat-systems.com

Thomas Muenzberg, VP Finance P: 720-227-0378 tmuenzberg@swat-systems.com

COMPANY CONTACT

Scott Sutton, President P: 800-498-7965 or P: 303-439-0372 scotts@vizergroup.com

•.....

SNTKY : OTCBB

Garth Russell P: 212-896-1250 grussell@kcsa .com

SWAT : NASDAQ

COMPANY OBJECTIVE: Attract Market Exposure SWAT is seeking significant market exposure for the company and its Non-lethal patent pending Avurt Launcher which is scheduled for release Q1-Q2 2007. This high-tech, non-lethal product will revolutionize the personal protection industry.

••

S enetekPLC Senetek PLS

Security with Advanced Technology, Inc.

..

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Greg Pusey, Chairman P: 303-722-4008

Sin1trol

Simtrol, Inc.

SMRL : OTCBB

COMPANY OBJECTIVE: Attract Market Exposure

COMPANY DESCRIPTION

Simtrol develops scalable software solutions that cost-effectively manage disparate devices in courtrooms, operating rooms, and boardrooms to achieve dramatically improved efficiency. Simtrol's solutions are sold directly and through professional system integrators, value-added resellers (VARs) and other distributors who are supported by the Company's sales and technical support staff.

COMPANY ADDRESS

IRCONTACT

2200 Norcross Parkway Suite 255 Norcross, GA 30071 P: 678-533-1200 www.simtrol.com

Stephen Samp Chief Financial Officer P: 678-533-1201 steve.samp@simtrol.com

COMPANY CONTACT

Rick Egan Chief Executive Officer P: 678-533-1279 rick.egan @simtrol.com

Join The iValueRich Community

We help companies create shareholder value.

Whether we make a financing easier, help you achieve a fairer market valuation, or broaden your shareholder base, we help you enhance the value of your business.

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Harbinger Research now accepts both cash and restricted shares for its services.

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Sovereign Exploration Assoc Inti, Inc.

SVXA :OTCBB

COMPANY OBJECTIVE: Raising Capital, Mergers & Acquisitions, Market Support, Strategic Partnereships & Joint Ventures, New Contacts COMPANY DESCRIPTION

Sovereign is a maritime exploration company that researches, identifies, recovers and conserves precious coins and valuable artifacts from historic shipwrecks using the highest preservation standards. The Company specializes in low cost recovery operations from sunken treasure ships found in shallow coastal waters. Sovereign has a significant inventory of licensed wreck sites and is seeking funding for multiple recovery operations to produce maximum profitability for its shareholders.

COMPANY ADDRESS

COMPANY CONTACT

120 Alpine Road West Palm Beach, FL 33405 www.sea-int.com

Peter Knollenberg Co-Founder and CEO P: 561-547-2616

TNSP:OTCBB

Tank Sports, Inc.

COMPANY OBJECTIVE: Raising Capital, Mergers & Acquisitions Tank Sports is constantly seeking growth capital. Our objective is to grow not only organically but thru M&A. For near term, our goal is to upgrade listing to NASDAQ. We are open to any proposal if it creates value to the company, shareholders, and investors.

COMPANY DESCRIPTION:

Tank Sports, Based in El Monte, California, designs, develops, engineers, and markets high performance on-road motorcycles and scooters, and off-road all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), dirt bikes and Go Karts. The Company was incorporated in California on March 5, 2001 and its shares were listed on the OTC Bulletin Board on November 1, 2006 under the trading symbol TNSP. COMPANY ADDRESS

IRCONTACT

10925 Schmidt rd El Monte, CA 91733 www.tank-sports.com

Vanessa Hong, Senior IR P: 626-350-4039 Vanessa@tank-sports.com

IRCONTACT

Laurel Moody Corporate Profile, LLC P: 91 7-640-0461 lmoody@corporateprofile.com

COMPANY CONTACT

Wei Luo, VP Finance P: 626-350-4039 Wei@tank-sports.com

VIKING SYSTEMS

Private

US Dry Cleaning Corporation

VKSY : OTCBB

Viking Systems, Inc.

COMPANY OBJECTIVE: Strategic partnerships and joint ventures, as well as new business contacts

COMPANY OBJECTIVE:

COMPANY DESCRIPTION:

US Dry Cleaning is a classic, fundamental early stage consolidator.

On December 30, 2005 the company merged with a public corporation to become the first public operator of dry cleaning stores in America. Sales grew from approximately $1 million in the Sep. 30, 2005 fiscal year to over $6 million in fiscal 2006.

The board and management of USDC are very experienced, successful, consolidators.

COMPANY ADDRESS

IRCONTACT

125 E. Tahquitz Canyon, Ste. 203 Palm Springs, CA 92262 www.usdrycleaning.com

Rick Johnston Director of Shareholder Communication, 760-668-1274 rick@usdrycleaning.com

132 VALUERICH MAGAZIN E

COMPANY DESCRIPTION

Viking Systems, Inc. is a designer, manufacturer and marketer of three-dimensional (3-D) and two-dimensional (2-D) highperformance laparoscopic vision systems for use in minimally invasive surgical procedures. The Company focuses on bringing integrated solutions to the digital surgical environment by developing a portfolio of targeted medical technologies and services to address the current and emerging needs of the digital operating room.

COMPANY ADDRESS

COMPANY CONTACT

4350 La Jolla Village Drive Suite 900 San Diego, CA 92122 www.vikingsystems.com

Donald E. Tucker President & CEO P: 858-431-4010 IRCONTACT

Erika Moran The Investor Relations Group, P: 212-825-3210 emoran@investorrelationsgroup.com

Join The iVolueRich Community

The VALUE

Market lace

..

Astrata ..

The Astrata Group, Inc

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Oigitai FX速 ATTG: OTCBB

DFXN : OTCBB

DigitaiFX International, Inc.

COMPANY OBJECTIVE: Attract Market Exposure.

Astrata Group, a leader in state-of-the-a rt vehicle and people trackin g system s, recently was awarded a $93 million contract, which the company believes is the single largest contract in t he industry's history. Its growing backlog makes it a major investment opportunity.

COMPANY OBJECTIVE: Attract Market Exposure DigitaiFX is demonstrating to investors the power, ease and costcompetitiveness of its superior web 2.0 offerings and convergence technology for individuals and enterprises worldwide; why it believes it is a major investment opportunity, and how it is growing rapidly in terms of customers, revenue and earnings

COMPANY DESCRIPTION

COMPANY DESCRIPTION:

Astrata develops, distributes and supports proprietary hardware and software that tracks, controls and monitors the movement of assets and people, providing "real -time" reports of the current position of the asset and its travel history. If the vehicle deviates from its planned course, it can be stopped or disabled. Astrata has sold its systems to businesses and governments in Southeast Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

DigitaiFX International creates digital communications and social networking solutions, as showcased on its social network www. helloworld.com. The company develops and markets proprietary communication and collaboration services and social networking software applications, including video email, video instant messaging, live webcasting, and digital phone services. Its flagship product, called The Studio, is an affordable, cross digital platform web-based solution.

COMPANY ADDRESS

COMPANY CONTACT

950 South Coast Drive, Suite 265, Costa Mesa, CA 92626-1776 www.smartire.com

Todd M. DeMatteo P: 212-888-8809

IRCONTACT

Richard Stern P: 212-888-0044

MEDIA CONTACT

Robert J. Onesti P:212-558-8810 ronesti @dominickanddominick.com

COMPANY ADDRESS

IRCONTACT

3035 East Patrick Lane Suite 9 Las Vegas, NV 89120 www.digitalfx.com

Arun Chakraborty Stern & Co. P: 21 2 888-0044 achakrab@sternco.com

COMPANY CONTACT

Lorne Walker, CFO P: 702-938-9300 lorne@digitalfx.com

Three Steps To Connect With Important Financial Professionals Who Can Help Your Company Grow Open an iValueRich.com Web 2.0 Company Page and immediately submit your company's financial objectives to a large group of investment banks, asset managers and venture capitalists. Dynamically link all your company's information and news, and build a growing network of investor and financial contacts.

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VA 134 VALUERICH MAGAZI NE

ERICH CALL 561-832-8878 or visit www.iValueRich.com Join The iValueRich Community

~

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Pressure Cycling Technology (PCT) uses rapid cycles of hydrostatic pressure between ambient and ultra-high levels to co ntrol biomolecular interactions, allowing for a high degree of precision, reprod ucibility, speed, and safety. This unique, patented technology offers the potential for broad applications in genomics, proteomics, protein purification, immunodiagnostics, and pathogen inactivation.

Pressure BioSciences has focused its PCT R&D efforts to date in the area of genomic and proteomic sample preparation. For example, cell or microbial suspensions; human, animal , or plant tissue; forensics samples; or food samples are placed in specially-designed, si ngle-use processing contai ners (PULSE Tubes) and are then subjected

to

alternating cycles of low and high pressures in a pressure generating

Safe: PULSE Tubes offer a closed system to reduce sample handling and minimize exposure to pathogens/toxins Fast: Nucleic acids, small molecules, and proteins are released from a wide variety of cells and tissues in minutes

Powerful: Up to 35,000 PSI can be used to lyse samples and release excellent quality and quantity of bio路molecules Efficient: Up to three samples can be extracted simultaneously, in minutes

instrument (Barocycler). Maximum and minimum pressure levels, time at pressure,

Versatile: Animal, plant, and microbial

number of pressure cycles, and tempe1路ature of the pressure chamber are controlled

samples can be processed; either standard or user defined protocols can be used

by the user. T he quality and quanti ty of nucleic acids, proteins, or small molecules extracted by PCT are often equal to m路 bette1路 than other cu n ent methods, while the speed, reprod ucibility, versatility, simplicity, and safety of PCT are unmatched.

PBI

Pressure BioSciences Inc.

321 Manley Street West Bridgewater, MA 02379

soa-sao-1818 www.pressurebiosciences.com

Reproducible: Computer controlled protocols mean consistent sample extraction each time, every time

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by Steve Crowley

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This metaphorical expression refers to a fundamental change that causes us to lose peak performance.

Some say it hearkens back t o a weird waterskiing episode of Happy Days in which Fonzie actually jumped a shark - signaling that the sitcom had lost direction.

The Don lmus debacle is one example of "jumping the shark;' and it w as purely Don's fault. Sure, he was paid $10 mil lion a year to be a "shock jock." And yes, he insulted, derided and cu ssed peopl e out maybe a few thousand times before - pre sidents, kings and lea ders and celebriti es of every race, background, creed and cultu re.

But Don's error wa s that beside no rmally being way too mean - spirited, insulting and race-biased, he (1 ) hasn't adjusted his "act" to times of increased political correctness, and (2) hasn't been showing hi s softer, caring side as much as in the pa st. He's a true paradox - with ingredients from both sides to bake his compl ex per sonality cake .

The old curmudgeon seems to have ju st gotten meaner and more self-centered lately. Pride goeth before a f all, and this can happen to any human .

It's been said that human knowledg e doubles every year now. In busin ess, w e don 't have the lu xury of jumping th e shark even once. Unlike the missions of a shock jock or a sitcom, which tend to stick with a formula , our ultimate mi ssions and goals must be updated con stantly and tweaked- quarter in and quarter out- to remain competitive and keep growing.

But w hile you 're setting company goals, remembe r person al goals as well.

We must find joy in living. In my boo k Money fo r Life, I point out that where we live, whether we have th e right spouse, and what we really desire in life supersede our primary business goals and

five-year plans. Meeting personal goals is a source of joy; not meeting them is a source of misery. A morbid water-cooler chuckler is that "no one on their death bed wishes they had spent more time at the office."

One corporate Web site I perused last week w as shockingly frank and to the point: "We want to build value for investors, and become a prime target for acquisition :' Now, th ese folks admit what they truly want - to be bought out, get rich and stop w orking. Bravo, they told the truth in a sea of corporate jargon!

Tomorrow is promised to no one One of the CEOs in our Investors Showcase a few years ago was a terrific guy with a tight business ship, build -

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.搂"' Steve Crowley is a former CPA and the Editor and Host of the successful national finan cial talk-radio program, "American Scene" radio.

Steve has over 20 years radio and syndicated TV news experience including money editor for ABC's Good Morning America and host and producer for U. S. News & World Report Personal Finance Video series.

How many year s do you have left to accomplish your personal goals?

What about those dream travels to the Galapagos Islands, Rio and the Great Wall of China? When you loo k into the mirror each morning , do you ponder such things? Are you Happy with a capi tal H? Is it crossing that $100 million in revenue mark or in market cap that will make you happy?

Flying makes me smile. Looking into my wife 's eyes makes me incredibly happy. Creating quality TV and radio shows is a joy too. Watching my three sons turn into men -what a w onderful blessing!

I remember the James Kavanaugh poem There Are Men Too Gentle to Live Among Wolves , in which he writes , " ... men who anoint their greedy claws with profit ... who prey upon them with IBM eyes and sell their hearts and guts for martinis at noon ."

Kavanaugh 's messages are twofold : 1) Don't be an animal in the busines s world. Have scruples and follow the

''no one on their death bed wishes they had spent more time at the office."

136 VALUERICH MAGAZINE

ing value for his shareholders . He was a health-conscious guy in his 50s who seemed to be in great shape. He exercised daily, even taking jogs during mid-day breaks . Then one day, during a routine run, he didn't come back. He left more than a few mourners behind, including my staff and me. No one saw it coming!

In the film The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, we are shocked when up-and-coming executive Gregory Peck tells his boss that he won't go along on an important business trip because he just wants to be a 9-to-5 executive and not a company builder. Wow! Imagine saying this to your boss or stockholders today. That would be som e Sarbanes-Oxley disclosure! Still , I admire that this character stuck to his personal goals and jumped the shark!

"Golden Rule" as you do in your personal life. 2) Some people are simply not cut out for the business shark t ank. These folks should follow gentler vocations.

So, let 's keep a constant vigil for those sharks . I want to keep my peak performance into my senior year s total optimal output for achieving key personal goals f irst, and then excel in my busine ss challenges . Maintaining balance is everything - especially if you must jump the shark. R Join The iVolueRich Community

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