****THE WAVE*****
Beyond the Proxy Vote: Wave's Future
By: Bluefang in WAVX It doesn't matter whether the proxy is voted down or is allowed to pass. IMO. The damage has been done and the loyal Wavoid base that has supported Wave all these years, is seeing this investment and the mgt in a different light.
Before this proxy, there had been enough residual damage--non-performance in the face of lofty promises. Wavoids swallowed their disappointment each quarter, because they believed in Wave and understood it would take time.
The troubling little artifacts that kept popping up such as Founders Shares, the officer loans, the class action suit, the SEC investigation, the "guaranteed" bonus, golden parachutes, $250K to David Booth, WXP feather-bedding, etc.--were self-suppressed (with the help of Snackie & Awk) by Wavoids who kept focused on the ultimate prize--total ubiquity. They couldn't wait for the little company from Lee, MA to gain a stranglehold on securing trusted computing and to truly become the beating heart of it.
Many mistakenly equated the growing TPM movement with Wave's progress and they saw the two welded together, when in fact, they moved separately.
All of this would have been fine, except for the one thing Wave could not tamper with--the bottom line. Wavoids have had a long history of tolerating extended timelines for success without requiring accountability or consequences.
And it is the bottom line that will finally be the dagger in the heart of those pulling the strings from above. Once revenue started to flow, the clock began to tick.
Now two main streams of outgoing currents have come together to form a reverse tsunami. Instead of flooding shareholders with wealth, the tide has gone out in one long and loud, massive sucking movement.
At the very time when Wave should be starting to climb to its imagined place high in the firmament, these two reverse streams have swept it below the horizon.
The one was the failure to achieve traction with upgrades, simultaneous with the stalling of forward movement on licencing.
Deep discounting to get the product into the enterprise took its toll and despite trainloads of shipments, revenue was thin, far below raised expectations.
The other was the festering matter of trust between the investor base and the mgt. The artifacts previously mentioned had been bothersome to some, but could be overlooked as long as Wave was marching forward towards its goal.
But forward progress stalled. Three straight quarters of lackluster sales could not be ignored. Yet the lofty promises from the CEO, continued as before. It was as if he didn't realize there had been a sea change and now his statements could be verified quarterly by revenue.
So, into this explosive atmosphere, Wave mgt ignited it all with the inept, poorly-timed proxy proposal. It was badly executed, rushed thru based on faulty numbers and it was out of all proportion to any sense of fair play for long-suffering shareholders.
It is irrelevant whether the proxy passes or fails. Wave mgt has destroyed the sacred bond between its investor base that overlooked so much for so long, to take care of itself--with a single over-reaching move that revealed the heart of pure greed behind it.
Except for a few, Wavoid Nation will never be the same again. They were betrayed in a big way-- far different than the little betrayals of before. They were betrayed in one grand, flawed gesture that even the blind could not fail to see. Furthermore, mgt wrapped it in the thinnest, see-thru excuses.
The consequences of the proxy are going to continue to fulminate in unhealthy ways, IMO. Those who trusted so completely, are now looking at the company and the mgt in new ways and the many cracks and flaws they overlooked before, are glowing as if lit by neon.
It is conjecture on my part, but the flat or even possibly declining quarters to come, are going to cast an even brighter spotlight on the betrayals and all the lies about progress.
The evidence has been in plain sight for a long time, but until this proxy, few Wavoids showed any interest in it. It includes troubling artifacts such as the Papa Gino Reference Case.
Wavoids thought the tainted Ref. Case would be the first of many to come as so many gorillas joined the Wave parade. The follow-ons would be legit, they thought.
After more than a year and a half, Papa G remains as the only case--stinking in the moonlight like a dead mackerel, crickets feasting on the innards.
On Tuesday, in all likelihood, Wavoids are going to get confirming news about their worst suspicions, their darkest doubts--another flat quarter--four in a row! That's not all.
We are more than a third of the way thru the "Breakeven Quarter"--that was quickly unmasked as no more truthful or meaningful than "The Watershed Year" or "The Banner Year."
The Q2 results may seal the case completely, if Q2 and next Tuesday's results are in line with the expectations of realists.
When the sole "investor" institution in the last few PPs is revealed to be none other than SRA, led by the father of the Wave Investor Relations head--even the naive can see the deceit, the pretense and the betrayal that has been the hallmark of Wave's long slippery path.
In this case, I suspect the realization is going to be fatal.
The steady posting of Wavoids voting no on the proxy and those announcing they have either sold or have completely lost faith, are telling. The end can not be too far away.
Bluefang
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