2 Thoughts From Trolling Thread Archives
1. Re Tef's "The biggest asset of i2's organization is their Marketing Group...hands down, the best on the Street. I understand that this element doesn't add a lot of value from a GG perspective, but I thought I'd toss it in for good measure!"
Lucius had this to say in post 592:
"The report on Siebel by Timothy Dolan of Deutshe Bank Alex Brown includes the following cogent comment: Having a very good product allows you to get in the game and is probably 25% of the battle, but ultimately it's who has the best sales, marketing and distribution capabilities that ultimately wins. Included within that are partnerships that help to expand the distribution channel and increase the market awareness of the company. This really applies to any technology company trying to get into the mainstream. These customers are interested mainly in solutions, not in technology. As investors, we should keep this in mind when evaluating tech companies. Listen to the tech experts, but keep in mind that the marketplace battle is not always won by the "best" technology. It is usually won by a "good" technology, pushed by a company that can dominate the other factors."
2. Re Merlin's musing in post 603 about B2B valuations (sector undervalued, companies overvalued): "that's exactly what the revised manual's authors say about the Internet stocks. Their ultimate answer to the two questions: 'You do the math.'"
I just read Michael Lewis' The New New Thing, a portrait of Jim Clark. It is good but not great (not as much of a classic as Liar's Poker, IMO), and probably worth reading for those interested in the Silicon Valley mindset and experience. But in a great scene describing the preparations for Healtheon's roadshow, Lewis says that Clark, Mike Long, and other company leaders had absolutely no idea what the company might ever be worth or how to value it. There were no current revenues to point to, and given the size of the health care industry potential future revenues were nearly infinite, and thus absurd. But they had to say something, right? So they settled on the following. After discussing the number of doctors they hoped to bring in, and the potential annual revenue stream per doctor, they sat back and said, "You do the math!" That way they couldn't be held accountable for specific predictions, while investors would be led to mindboggling results through their own calculations... :0)
tekboy/Ares@stillbusted.com |
