Actually I'd have to believe that you lost more
than your shirt in this stock, though you say otherwise
to salve your ego.
I've never been an advocate of Bob or the other "hypers".
I actually made you aware of many of the activities that
fuel your disdain.
However, misled I may have been by fraud or misguided
enthusiasm, I still see no reason not to put what
has occurred into a larger less histrionic perspective.
I look, in general, at what has occurred with other
internets, namely how this sector has been financed
as a whole, how much cash Inets have burnt through,
and how dilutive this process can be. I also
note how this dilution extends to the acquisition
process.
With Tigi Post RS dilution has been primarily the
consequence of acquisitions whereas pre-rs dilution
was primarily due to a floorless PP.
One can go on and on about how deletorious this "was",
but then again this is a bb stock where getting
financing at all is difficult let alone financing
at favorable terms. Though if I knew then what I knew
now, yes I would have invested differently.
However, if I had this power of such hindsight
I also would have traded so many other Inets
differently listed on the otc and the
big boards, especially those that had much ballyhooed
financing underwritten by big named IB's.
Take a look at Marketwatch, Priceline, ValueAmerica,
Pets.com, Rare Medium, CMGI, Eggs and so many others
that were all part of this bubble. Look at the cash
these companies raised through IPO's or otherwise.
Then don't look just at the inflated gross revs,
but also look at the burn rates. Note 138 Inets
are out of business, et cetera... and then ask yourself
how many MORE people were burnt because of the hype
of the Mary Meekers of this world.
Amazon has outstanding GROSS revenues, but back
out the costs and their dilution has largely been
caused by their tremendous
burn rate...plus Amazon has billions of dollars worth
of converts still outstanding.
After assessing both my successes and many mistakes,
I still come back to the b-models. TIGI's burn rate
by Inet terms is miniscule. If it had been comparable,
tigi would have long ago been out of business.
Most Inets, especially many of those that flew high
as have since crashed more significantly, had volume
models predicated on generating traffic to sell
advertising space. However the rates for this space
never offset the lost margins on so many cheaply
sold goods..plus alll the money burnt to attract eyeballs
more than offset these slim margins and advertising revs.
TIGI has taken a very different route. The charity
model was dependent upon on a distributor network. Tsig
at the time didn't understand this and made mistakes
that cost money and required financing that turned out
to be dilutive. Businesses, especially those in
new and fast changing sectors, make mistakes.
The reverse merger of GS and the acquisition Affinity
though build upon the original model which had as an
underlying principle the idea of minimizing the cost
for acquisition for eyeballs. This principle is
still very much in effect.
This is still an experiment as is Amazon.
De-emphasizing etail sales with their slim margins
isn't necessarily a bad thing. The real money
ie. margins seems to be in enhancing offline sales
f corporate partners products
and use of info for additional target marketing.
Wall Street "experts" didn't believe or realize
this as recently as six months ago. Many still don't.
Many of the early "leaders" b-models are too entrenched
and inflexible and are losing market caps or shedding
parts of their employees and businesses to reduce their
burn rates . This is a very quick and shifting environment.
Will tigi's relationships with Penzoil, Coca Cola and
others ultimately lead to the revenues that have eluded
tigi thus far? Don't know. If the Affinity numbers
are real, then the dilution caused by this acquisition
actually add earnings and revenues per shares
outstanding. If the numbers are bogus, then legitimate
claims of fraud can be made.
Till we see some numbers, wild assertions of success of
failure, IMO are absurd. Statements on both ends of
the spectrum again IMO are irresponsible. Tigi's
b-plan may not have worked hitherto, but the company
isn't a "scam". Businesses that don't work or stop
working are many. If some one divests, then feels the
need to be another's savior, then that someone really needs
to move a few seats father back in the auditorium to get
a greater perspective.
Any CEO of any company speaks favorably of his
or her company's prospects. Enthusiasm and optimism
don't always pan out. That's part of business.
Tsig/Tigi has many made mistakes. So have many other
"successful" companies. Rather than whine about how you
felt you've been "had". Report those beliefs, but
IMO you should also move on with your life
and let others make their own decisions without
the dramatic incindiary language which in itself
is very manipulative.
This is extremely high risk. I may lose all my money.
That is my business. Others may choose to buy, sell,
or hold as they wish.
Again...just my opinion.
z |
