Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : 3DFX -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: benwood who wrote (4686)	6/24/1998 7:33:00 PM
From: Hal Rubel	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 16960

An Open Letter to the Chairman of the Board Dear Sir: Here is a list of eight economical but effective actions that management can take to garner for the shares of your firm the recognition and respect we all know it needs and deserves. I. Road Shows: Send management out into the field and make some noise. - 1) To Institutions: Visit them. Don't lecture. Ask them what they would like to see from TDFX, or what they saw some other firm do that got their attention. The fact that they were even asked such a question will impress. - 2) To Retail Stores: Co-op an ad in the paper saying such-and-such a genius 3D engineer will be on hand Saturday to demonstrate cool never before seen stuff, compare boards, and autograph card boxes. Work with the game makers on this and kill the proverbial two birds. II. Contest: Dual Free boards and a box of every Voodoo II game known to man to the lucky winner. Or better yet, winner gets to be a beta-tester on some upcoming killer game. III. Board Meetings: Mysterious board meetings and plenty of them. Send out for lots of Pizza. Be in board meetings when shareholders and institutions call, but always have the time to take the call. IV. Public Profile: Hire a publicist and put out a self serving gossipy newsletter to increase TDFX visibility. There's no such thing as bad publicity, at least, not the kind you pay up-front for. - 1) Donate Some Stuff to Schools: Computers would be nice. Throw in some boards, too. Offer scholarships. Offer internships, get em' young and cheap. - 2) TakeTours: Be seen to be taking a lot of tours. Visit Intel. Take the public tour two days in a row. Get to know Steve and Bill. Address the President's Council on Youth Violence ("Tusk, tusk ...a damn shame!") Play golf with Larry the database tycoon. Rumors will fly. V. Stock Buy Backs: - 1) On the Open Market: Authorize lots and enforce at your leisure. Even the most modest buy back sends a strong message. Shoot for a modest 500,000 shares. Hell, they were sold for $23.75, so there is more money to be made now by buying back shares than in selling chips. Being able to make money without having to sell product has got to impress someone out there. - 2) Within the Company: Don't let those executives make such a scene with their insider sales. Visit them in their cubicles to buy up those extra shares when passing out pay checks on Fridays. Keep your people off the streets. VI. Endorsements - 1) Endorse All Games: Be selling all the time. There is nothing more respectful and appreciated than going out of your way to sincerely praise your fellow man. Besides, you can't go broke plugging the very software that features your technology. Introduce your executive game geek buddies to your new friends Steve, Bill, and Larry. They will not forget you in the end. - 2) Celebrity Endorsement: Works great, but a little expensive. However, dogs are cheap and are all the rage these days ..."yo Quiero TDFX". I don't know how they get the cute little mouth to move. It must be some kind of FX. I'm an idea man and that's just a detail. So, handle it. VII. Industry Awards: Go directly to the top of your industry by being the one to issue the awards. Who ever does it first captures the high ground and looks down, however graciously, on all the rest. Rent a ball room in a big city hotel. Do a door prize to fill the hall. Invite the press and feature your friends Steve, Bill and Larry. Be sure that Henry Kissinger gets a lifetime achievement award of some kind (Peace, or some such ...) for balance and then proceed to spoil your friends with the rest of the awards. Competitors should be treated generously too. The "Most Improved Product" Award, for instance, should always be reserved for a competitor. Special emphasis should always be given to your competitor's heroic struggles with the short comings of his product. One can just not say enough about ones fellow competitors when in the spotlight. VIII. Strategic Leaks with Press Conferences to Set Things Straight: All good news type stuff, of course. For example, the institutional public somehow hears that you are pretty sure that you were able to catch that pesky subliminal bug just in time before the most recent product release. (You know, the one that caused users to hunt down and kill anybody that says bad things about the firm.) Well, in any event, good citizen that you are, you are pleased to announce that you have upped your liability insurance coverage, just in case, to show that your heart is in the right place. Besides, end users of your products, as everyone knows, are normal healthy beings, not the desensitized maniacs a vocal but dwindling minority of misguided critics have impugned. Sell, sell, sell ... Well, there's eight freebees to get you started. If you like my ideas, I am available for immediate employment. Respectfully Yours, Hal