Greetings Everyone!
As many of your know, I have been travelling this past week to Calgary and Vancouver. I took yesterday off to try to collect my thoughts and catch up with what has happened with my family while I was gone.
Here are a few random thoughts from my visit to Calgary.
- It was great to meet all the people who showed up at the Roxbury the night before the Special meeting. There was a pretty even split between those who were posting on the threads and those who have been lurking (a.k.a. - readers not contributors). I was taken aback at just how long the majority of these people had been shareholders. If we ranked everyone by the length of time that people had held shares and the amount of shares held by them, then I think that I would be near the bottom of that seniority list. <gg> What also struck me was that these people were all as astute as they were articulate - and it became very clear that they all felt excited about where this company was headed. Now in my opinion, if this group was a representative sample of the bulk of NSI's shareholders - then when the rest of the investment community catches on to what we all already know - then I really don't see these people dumping their shares into a run up. I believe that based on their holding periods many of the group are in it for the long haul and they are obviously investors not speculators. If I am correct, and others follow their lead, then the share float should stay relatively small and tightly held. With good news, and the principle of supply and demand kicking in, I see the share prices rising pretty dramatically.
- Prior to the shareholders' meeting, I had an opportunity to speak with Jan Baan. I was impressed with his willingness to speak frankly, and offer his opinions on what he feels should be done to increase shareholder value. I used that opportunity to ask him whether they were looking at the possibility of allowing existing NSI shareholders to purchase Pre-IPO shares in the upcoming spin-off companies. To paraphrase his response, he told me that he wants to see that happen. He said that they are looking very closely at ways to work out an equitable formula to address that. He also said that the lawyers need to determine what is possible and how it could be structured. I know that Safeguard Scientifics (where the boys from ICGE got their start) does have just such a policy. If they can work this out, and once people realize just how valuable NSI is as a result of the licensing opportunities together with the exciting opportunities coming soon for Answers.com, KPulse.com, ClickChoice.com - then I personally believe that there will be a feeding frenzy for NSI stock. Retail players, brokerage firms, and larger firms will see it a backdoor way to participate in these IPO's. With Jan Baan's leadership, his international contacts, and his network of businesses which will be using NSI's technology, I see this setting us far above any other firm with a 'spin off' business model. During the special meeting, I did not feel that the issue of the participation in the IPO's came through clearly enough, so I asked Mr. Baan the question again in this public forum. I fully appreciated that in a full meeting like that, (where there are analysts and newspaper reporters present), he had to be much more careful with his comments than he was earlier. He realized that he had to watch his words very carefully as they may be taken out of context. When he was finished answering my question, NSI's corporate lawyer added his comments to ensure that they were not being held to something that had not been approved as yet. Although I understood this, I can tell you it was nice to hear Owen Pinnell (the outgoing Chairman) summarize by saying that the Board of Directors are looking for ways to make this happen. Note: I know someone who copied his words down verbatim, and if get the direct quote and I will post it here.
- Mr. Baan's presentation on 'Beyond ERP' was worth the whole trip. As I have both presented and sat through many presentations on what the ERP model is and what it can do for organizations, and I can tell you that Mr. Baan's presentation (and his power point slides) made me sit up and take notice. In the space of an hour, this man clearly pointed out what the problems are with the status quo in the ERP industry, how big the gap is between that status quo and the existing and future needs of corporations, and what has to be done to bridge that gap. He is striving to build a network of businesses to ensure that the knowledge worker will have what they need to function at a high level. He pointed out the huge limitations that exist in the ERP area now, and he then set out to clearly lay out how he has created a network of companies which will address this issue. In summary, he is striving to set up a network of companies to "manage critical success factors to support knowledge workers". Net Shepherd, and its application companies are right at the heart of this network. It became very clear that he knows exactly where he and his companies are headed.
After hearing him speak, I had this picture in my mind of other high flying companies taking off and sky rocketing, and then falling back to earth just like a the rockets that your children buy and set off in the park. Granted, they are impressive to watch. However, I believe that rather than toying with cardboard rockets, Mr. Baan is building his version of the space shuttle. The scale and potential reach of what he is building is stunning. Now, I have had the opportunity to see a space shuttle launch before, and I promise you that I want to be along for the ride when he launches this one.
- Mr. Baan made the statement that when you combine entrepreneurs with good management, you can accomplish great things. During his presentation, he put up a slide that showed who is on his core management team now. What I was not aware of was is that team is made up of many of the same people who were with him through the years when they built Baan to its peak. That slide really impressed me because up until then, I was not aware of that fact. So basically . . . he is the entrepreneur who has a solid, experienced, and loyal management team behind him who can crate plans and execute them to make his vision a reality.
- Mr. Baan spoke to the issue of why he is doing what he is doing. Basically, he wants to make lots of money! Some may ask how could a man who has more money than 99.9% of all the people in the world have the same drive as someone who doesn't! After hearing him talk, I now believe that he is more driven than most. The reason for this boils down to what he is doing with his wealth. When Baan stock was flying, Mr. Baan transferred his shares in Baan Software into another company. This company is a charitable organization which has been set up by him to make the world a better place for those in need! Now if that isn't an incentive to make lots of money then I don't know what is. In my opinion, the essence of what he has done is that he is now working to ensure that his business enterprises feed profits into this charitable company. It is simple . . . The more money they have - the more good works they can do. That is why he wants to create value for shareholders! His charitable company is a huge shareholder. So, putting it in other words - the more money and value that Net Shepherd (and the application companies) have, the more his organization can help others. Understanding this, made me fully appreciate why he is doing what he is doing and I understand his drive to create value and maximize shareholder returns.
As many of you know, I have been very bullish on this company's future. Now I would be lying if I said that I wasn't somewhat disappointed not to hear some solid revenue contract announcements at the meeting. However, after attending the meeting and hearing Mr. Baan and others talk about what is coming down the pipe for us, my faith in this investment is more solid than ever, and my expectation for what the future holds has been raised a few notches.
Crazy Canuck |
