Hi Tomato Man,
I tried to call Michael Sheppard this afternoon (Monday) but could not find him, and on the second try I got Maura Marx who was very receptive to answer my queries and had a very interesting and long discussion with her. I apologise for not posting this message earlier I had to take the kids to EPCOT.
I will try to summarise the points of discussion as I remember them, however, before I do that I would like to highlight couple of points :
1. The management are about to have a two day planning session to figure out the next step, IDB, Audit, revenues status, strategies areas of focus etc.. She was in the process of preparation for the meeting, which is going to take place probably tomorrow. So folks don't expect any news, additions to the website or even trying to get hold of anybody at FNTN they will lock themselves in and do what they do best..
2. Both Maura and Michael caught a virus while travelling and are both not feeling very well despite the preparations required for the meeting.
3. They all read the Silicon Investor FNTN threads every evening.
4. Maura was very general and did not want to give specific time frames, opinions or release of information which we all understand her reasons..
Now for the points I managed to discuss with her (note: when I mention MM it is Maura Marx not the ugly MMs that we hate):
 Intranet setup/completion: MM "not up yet, don't want to do the same mistake as the web site.. Want to be sure 100% before launching" they just launched their new firewall and it is up now..
 In so far as the gateway being down.. MM" they are in the process of finalising the signoff of the maintenance agreement with Siemens and they don't currently have anybody monitoring the website 24/7, which they will once this agreement is finalised".
 New Customers and the Fortune 1000 companies.. MM "most of these corporations are in the strategic planning stages of Intranet set-up i.e. GE. They have built a target list which they are working on `will discuss progress in the meeting' and are in the process of recruiting someone to handle these strategic major US accounts relationships.. MM is very much excited about the potential in Europe as they are more established when it comes to ISDN services than the US.. FOCUS ON the US, MAKE IT FLY HERE THEN EUROPE"
 Siemens will be very helpful in Europe, as they have been in the US.
 They are trying to include new funds on their Site to give fund managers a point to multi-point type of connection.
 Next announcement when? Subject?.. MM "after the two-day meeting, will decide what to do next"
 IDB Alliance with Empire.. MM "very happy with it, it widened the distribution channel for FNTN".
 Revenues on Target ?..MM "she is not involved in the financial aspects of the company, that is MS responsibility, she reckons though they maybe off by couple of months"
 Anything new to be expected on the web site ?.. MM "Kevin Haggerty is working on building new sophisticated charting systems to include `how to' etc.. He was on his way in when I called..
 FNTN Becoming an ISP ?. MM "not at this stage, it could be a future possibility, it needs a lot of money"
 Filing for the 144 and if they sold any shares ?.. MM "all insiders have the option to sell 1% of their shares every quarter, which even if they did exercise, should not mean anything to us investors".. They have expenses like all of us..
 MMs job is "GET THE SALES GET THE CONTRACTS and GET THE BABY FLY"
 Some people are getting discouraged about the fluctuation in the share price.. MM "this is a risky stock by nature and one has to make his or her own risk/reward evaluation"
 Finally, when I asked her about the potential for this company and management work attitude.. MM" Management are all very optimistic about the potential for this company.. They are putting their sweat and blood in this company.. They could have very good jobs elsewhere if they wanted.. Their is so much potential for all.Barry Stien got MM and MS together from different places and proved to be an excellent working chemistry".
 One more thing and this is for Tomato Man.. MM thinks Tomato Man does not stop fishing after his Fishing Holidays, he does it every day. I guess she was impressed by your fishing capabilities especially after your last call..
Now, I will leave you with the above to think about and draw your own conclusions that will make you happy..
As for me I feel very happy and comfortable with the decision I have taken and that is staying LONGGGGGGGG..
Good night all.. And sweet dreams..
TMK
P.S. Maura hope you approve of what I posted, I know you cautioned me about some of the points, I can not remember which.. Hope to talk to you again..
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