Stephen;
Great post. I've been bothered by the same seeming 'illogic' demonstrated by what on paper looks like a very rational team. The things I keep coming back to are the HUGE level of expenses per negligible revenues and the cloak of silence under which the so-called PR department operates.
First the expenses. Not only are the expenses outlandish compared to revenues, but GMGC is still hiring people hand-over-fist. I've been in large companies where a slight downturn in growth percentages means a year-long hiring freeze. I work in a small company where low sales numbers means no new paper clips.
According to someone I met with at GMGC in January, "We're hiring engineers as fast as we can - as fast as anyone in the Valley". This may have been a bit hyped for my benefit, but the employment section on the Web site backs this up. Spending so quickly when you see your cash about to run out is as logical as driving in the middle of the desert at night with 1/8 of a tank of gas with 200 miles to go to the next station and thinking, "I'd better floor it". Perhaps the market isn't yet ready for Portico, but everybody agrees it will be. Why not cut back on the throttles and work on positioning yourself for when the market is ready?
OK, now why the cloak of secrecy? Every two-bit company that has any kind of product floods the wires with press releases every chance they get, including my two-bit company. PR is a cheap but effective way to spread awareness and build confidence with customers and shareholders that 'the lights are on and somebody's home' in an organization. Everybody agrees GMGCs PR sucks. But why? The excuse is that 'pending partners don't want PR for competitive reasons'. BS. There's always something to talk about and to spin.
The shareholders are clearly ready to hang Markman. People are pissed that he has seemingly misshandled financing and shareholder expectations. Is he embarrasses by the financials he just reported? He'd better be. Why would he set himself up to have so much egg on his face this quarter, continue spending with no revenue so that he has the same situation for the next few quarters? Stephen, I agree with you, if logic has even a slight toehold in that organization, the only explanation is that Markman has created what is in his mind a 'done deal' with a partner / suitor. In his mind he's ramping up the organization to be part of a much larger organization. This is the only thing that makes sense to me. Somehow believing in this somewhat rational model, I'm hanging onto my shares. I just can't believe it's possible that Markman will spend the organization into oblivion by July.
Drew |
