As the cascading bad news turns from ugly to horrible, one wonders at the reaction elsewhere. Some see the minor uptick in revenue (imagined?) as a positive sign. There are always those who sift the wreckage and pull out a shiny bit of tinfoil as proof of the promise of Wave.
It seems no matter how harsh the real news, elsewhere they are talking about the value of the Wave patents (IMO, the value is next to zero).
Elsewhere, others see the death sentence as a bright light from above and claim they are buying more shares even "as the weak ones flee!"
It is as if 16 nails are required to keep the coffin shut. In Wave's case, 15 of them have been driven home perfectly, but the 16th nail did not hammer down flush and sticks up a barely perceptible micrometer.
The supporters who see nothing but blue skies, seize upon the one nail not quite driven home and declare Lazarus will not only smash open the coffin and crawl out, but then he (Wave) will enter a tech marathon and win it bigger and better than anyone who came before.
But most absurdly of all, some still cling to the CEO's words as if they contained truth instead of the almost pure BS he has been feeding the shareholders.
From St. Elsewhere: "Bill has stated that they have been in communication with customers weekly to ensure them that they have access to capital."
[OK, access to capital for a few weeks at 107% interest?! Wow, that's some access plan. Bet it calls for upping the CEO's bonus.]
Another from elsewhere: "There is good news on the horizon..." [yes, perhaps the long nightmare will soon be over.]
Where's that fairy with the magic wand?
"Maybe enough (revenue) has come in to pay off the bridge loan. A couple of deals sure wouldn't hurt either."
And also from Elsewhere, a reply to the Chief Analogy Officer, he of the turtles, hockey sticks and the minder of Wave's Eternal Hope Clock, who sees a wonderful future ahead.
"Always a voice of reason. I think we still have a few tricks up our sleeves. Something tells me we have another shoe to drop and maybe just maybe it will be a life line." [Blue, choking, "voice of reason" in that web of lies?]
There is so much more, turning in every direction but the right one, to see some way out of the hopeless mess. "A buy-in partner could help Wave in closing a deal." [If they had any deals to close, Wave would not be where it is right now, on the verge of complete collapse, IMO.]
I don't see a way out from here. I think we are down to perhaps days or weeks. The tangle of lies that kept this company afloat against all odds has finally eaten away at the hull below the water line.
This was never a seaworthy craft, IMO, but the supporters claimed it could carry more than the Queen Mary, beat any 12-meter America's Cup yacht and set a new ocean crossing record to boot.
All those naive and mis-aimed accolades now seem mocking of a ship that never once left the harbor and is slowly sinking. The water is rushing in faster than ever.
How long can a company run on rampant rumors of big sales, without ever making less than a handful of them in 27 years?
How many trip wires can mgt set off and still stay in business, without sales? How many times can rumors of big contracts keep shareholders content without any delivery?
How many companies showing promise, shunned Wave (Dell) after a long partnership? And how many said Dell's loss didn't mean anything, nothing to worry about. La de da.
How many lies, excuses, rationalizations and denials of inexorable truths about Wave can be tolerated? My guess is, we are about to find out.
In my 20th year of following Wave, this is the lowest point, the most desperate, the least hopeful and the saddest position I have seen for the company.
Shabby and incompetent management did us in, along with the lies coming from both Wave HQ and some interested and collaborative parties (without disclosing their interests) who were playing the shareholders from both ends--both sides assured one and all that things were just fine--be patient and you'll be rich. Just ignore those 'disgruntled investors' trying to sow fear and doubt.
That was bad enough. But when some folks tried to reveal the truth, they were shouted down, attacked and chased away. Those voices that were so conscientiously smothered, jailed, banned and deleted, were exactly the voices worth hearing, IMO. They told truth to the repeated lies about imminent profitability.
Those banned voices, if heard and heeded, could possibly have saved the company when it was still possible, if, instead of cheering at every misstep and laughing off the many blunders, shareholders had called for accountability and change.
Instead, mgt and the supporters together steered the broken Wave wagon into a deep ditch.
Today may be the day when some of those who were fooled may not only see the truth at last, but begin to wonder who it was who misled them so long about so much.
They may remember those who denied dropping sales, failures to reach goals and deadlines and repeated references to future big deals and sales that evaporated--were of no consequence. [They were.]
These same 'leaders' told supporters egregious mistakes like the bungling of the Safend deal, the over-payment of $70K to the CEO, the consistent sales of shares by the principals, the foul-up over the employee options plans, Founders Shares and so much more--all amounted to nothing to get excited about or so the 'leaders' claimed.
The problem is, the ineptness and the greed grabs that decimated Wave's treasury, were very much relevant and were absolutely indicative of a company that exalted in its constant lies to shareholders, promising profitability, while the mistakes, errors, missteps were blinking out a warning this company not only can't sell squat, but it also can not be trusted.
The end has yet to be written, but I think I can see it from here.
Blue
