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Dr. Belovich's Company website:
http://www.iqware.us/index2.htm
Some IT business perspective from Dr. B:
Monday, June 20, 2005
Economic development: What?
Think being cool is what brings people to town? Dr. Steve Belovich, one of Don's Capitalist Cleveland industry titans (find podcast here), writes to us and to the Plain Dealer:
To The Editor -
Akron and Cleveland have been doing a lot of economic introspection lately. Unfortunately, the analyses of both cities were very supply-side oriented. They only looked at the sources of degreed graduates and the regional amenities required to retain them. This is a nice feel-good activity, but expecting that approach to rejuvenate a region is unrealistic.
The real issue is high-wage careers with significant growth potential. That's it. Enough of those and the bright, energetic people will stay and drive all kinds of civic improvement. Without them, the best and brightest will leave the area and put down roots elsewhere.
A classic example is Silicon Valley. My work occasionally takes me there and I can attest to the fact that it is neither "hip", nor "cool". Silicon Valley also lacks many amenities that we take for granted in Northeast Ohio, among them being a great orchestra, good restaurants, a waterfront, decent highways, a great park system and greater libraries (yes, our CCPL is that good). Yet the best and brightest go there. Why? Because they start at $120,000+ a year, earn growth-oriented stock options and have an exciting career. Also, Silicon Valley does not focus on retaining its native population because they know that such a strategy is ridiculously self-limiting. They attract the best and the brightest regardless of origin, which contributes immensely to that region's success.
The economic analyses done on Akron and Cleveland yielded incomplete and/or wrong results because they asked the wrong questions of the wrong people. Asking a garage mechanic about a heart problem or a heart surgeon about an alternator malfunction is idiotic. Rather, start asking people who have actually created businesses how they did it. Ask them what was their approach and what can be done to help other entrepreneurs. Asking the right questions of the right people will yield the right answers.
The "Third Frontier" project was supposed to stop the brain drain and achieve economic success, but it is fundamentally flawed. Instead of investing in what smart entrepreneurs do on their own, The Third Frontier project implicitly tries to create entrepreneurs by investing in specific technologies - not in real businesses. This is the fatal flaw: a technology does not equal a business! Technology, rather, is a starting point and a tool for business. Smart investors know this. Smart investors also know that regional amenities derive from business creation and growth - not the other way around. So, let's focus on creating growth-oriented businesses. Do that, and a lot of great things will happen.
____
Dr. Steve G. Belovich
CEO
IQware, Inc.
http://barbarapayne-capitalistcleveland.blogspot.com/2005/06/economic-development-what.html
Those aricles are not negative. They are VERY positive. Did you even bother to read them?
The informtaion being posted is positive and relavent. Everybody is so defensive here that they can't even recognize positive information.
First, everybody is sayiing that Belovich is going to be the majority owner of CTTJ with 70% ownership now. So, posting good info about him on the board is negative how?
More on Belovich:
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
SmartData Goes Public
SmartData is Region’s 2nd Public Tech Firm
SmartData has gone public after completing a lengthy reverse merger process -- becoming just the second public technology firm in Northeast Ohio, I wrote in today's Plain Dealer. You can find Smart Data under its ticker symbol SDAI at Ottcbb.com, where over-the-counter bulletin board stocks are listed.
SmartData recorded just $300,000 in sales in the past 12 months, but it is hoping for revenue of around $2 million during this fiscal year, which ends in September. John Herda, SmartData's chief financial officer, said the $2 million the company hopes to raise would bring it credibility and money for new employees.
"The primary business reason for this is that we felt it would help us dealing with our customers," Herda said. "When you're a small shop, you occasionally run into that problem [of companies not knowing you]. It gives us a means to get information out to the public."
Herda also said the company will grow "several times" beyond its current 10-member staff in 2005. It will primarily add software developers and marketing employees.
Want to Know SmartData? Know Steve Belovich
Although I didn’t quote him in my story, SmartData founder Steve Belovich is the fuel behind almost every move his company makes. He’s an electric personality who is always doing something beyond the norm. SmartData has its own US Postal Service stamps (pdf), and Belovich is regularly handing out CDs of his band, The Rackhouse Ramblers.
Colleague Michael Heaton listed Belovich among a group of potential leaders back in 2002. Here’s an excerpt from Heaton's story:
"It's not fair to compare Cleveland to Silicon Valley or MIT in terms of high-tech industry," says Steve Belovich, the [then] 42-year-old founder, CEO and chief technical officer for SmartData, which has 11 employees. "But it is fair to compare us to Pittsburgh, and we're way behind them.
"The high-tech industry is a total mystery to the financial community here. And it changes so fast. When I was teaching computer engineering at Cleveland State, I would give the same test each year. And each year all the right answers changed."
In the early Eighties, Belovich was an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at CSU's Fenn College of Engineering. Eight years later, he co-founded BV Technologies, a profitable, self-financed corporation that twice won Weatherhead 100 awards for the 100 best growth companies.
"Stories about high-tech success here are like teenage sex. Wildly exaggerated," Belovich says. "What Cleveland needs is a $100 million-dollar information technology success story. It needs a business to serve as the model so that others can look and see it can be done. I feel like we have a shot at doing that. We're walking point, which we'd rather not do because that's where all the land mines are. But if we have to do it, we'll do it.
"I want SmartData to be the beacon of hope to this area," say Belovich. "I want people to look at us and say, 'See, it can be done.' "
Belovich says Cleveland doesn't compare to the West Coast when it comes to venture capital.
"When I call six venture capital firms in California with a business proposal, I hear back from all of them the same day. And some will apologize if they call back late in the day. If my proposal isn't their thing, they'll often refer me to another VC firm they think might be interested. There's an atmosphere of cooperation. They understand synergy," says Belovich, who lives in Richfield with his wife, Joanne, the assistant dean of CSU's Fenn School of Engineering.
"Try the same thing in Cleveland. It's like falling into a black hole. The attitude is startling," Belovich says. "First of all, the 10-page proposal I send to the West Coast becomes a 40-page proposal in Cleveland because people just don't understand the product. Second, if I call six venture capital companies here, only two will call me back, and they'll call two weeks later and then act like they're doing me a big favor by saying no. Third, instead of an attitude of cooperation there's one of competition, as if they're all vying for the same business."
Belovich says Cleveland is stuck in a wealth-preservation mode instead of a wealth-creation mode.
"Instead of trying to save 3,200 jobs in a dying industry we should bulldoze LTV and create 300,000 IT and Biotech jobs," he says. "The real challenge is how to transition to a new industry less painfully.
"Calling the situation here a brain drain is putting the cart before the horse. If we have the jobs, people will stay."
http://www.cleveland.com/weblogs/chatroomlive/index.ssf?/mtlogs/cleve_chatroom/archives/2004_10.html
Akron Beacon Journal
The Akron Beacon Journal is a daily newspaper published in Ohio.
That article source:
Lawsuit says CEO misled investors
Akron Beacon Journal, May, 2006
Don't know who the author is. I just found it. Not distraught. Trying to figure what the heck is going on with this company since they won't release an update. Found this too:
What’s your plan for VoIP?
Posted on October 18, 2004
Filed Under General
Local serial entrepreneur Dr. Steve Belovich has been burning up the telephone wires between here and Thailand lately. Seems the government there is interested in having his company Smart Data (which, by the way, is on the verge of announcing some pretty exciting news–stay tuned) to start intercepting the little voice packets that VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) uses to send messages between computers through the web.
Remember that obnoxious commercial where the teenager is banned from using the telephone and she continues her hours-long conversations with her girlfriends via the computer? That’s VoIP, and it seems this technology is extremely vulnerable to attack. Anyone savvy enough to collect the little packets who also has evil intent can easily alter the content of a message without changing the sound of your voice–a frighteningly real way to cause the worst kind of insidious damage, whether to government secrets or to teenage (or other) interpersonal relationships.
Dr. Belovich says you just plain shouldn’t be using VoIP–it leaves you too vulnerable. Even if you think no one cares about your proprietary technology or other secrets, you never know when (like an identity theft with credit cards) somebody might pick you to use as a vehicle for some other nefarious purpose.
And can you imagine this for a marketing coup? Smart Data has now had the United States Post Office issue them their own private stamp! Here’s how their logo will look on the corner of their letters:
Does the dilution mean we can't go up? Hell no. ETIM sprouted 600% when the company announced the end of dilution and they had maxed out their as.
Belovich dealing with his own legal woes?
Lawsuit says CEO misled investors
May 23, 2006 | 110 words, 0 images
A dozen people claiming a Hinckley software engineer persuaded them to invest in business software that doesn't work -- and that the company doesn't own -- have sued in Medina County Common Pleas Court.
The lawsuit alleges that SmartData's chief executive, Steve Belovich, led investors to believe that his Business Intelligence Middleware Software was immune from desktop viruses and compatible with outside computer systems.
The plaintiffs allege that Belovich violated the Ohio Securities Act by making false statements in order to sell stock in the company. They want their money back, plus attorney fees and other costs.
The case has been assigned to Judge James L. Kimbler.
Cuttin, hope you are right. Can you post the court ruling link please? Thanks.
Where did you come up with this information Cuttin? Why do you think this monkeywrench is good? You were previously singing Moody's praises. Where is the link for the court ruling? I really think you have done a dynamite job at DD, and I am being sincere.
Now, how did this become an anti-moody, pro Dr. B campaign on the board? I will sell when I desire.
Yeah, but if they did not want to give up the "number" of shares that they (Jim and Robin) own, they will have to increase the as and issue more shares.
Every time we get 7 on the bid, somebody dumps 5 mil at a time to kill the bid. What's that all about?
Cuttin, the judge can't tell them "how" to come up with the cash, he just makes the judgement that it is owed to the plaintiff. That will be up to Moody to decide how he can meet the judgment. If he doesn't have the cash, then another option would be to increase as and issue the shares to cover the judgement.
I agree, people who like to insure their winnings sell at the first sign of decent profit.
Who knows, as nothing seems clear here at this point.
Unfortunately, that is what happens when people don't know what is going on with the stock. That is why the company needs to update shareholders. If they did that showed they are doing goog business and have positive revenue streams on the horizon, this would not be a flipper's paradise. Leaving shareholder's in the dark makes for short momo runs and plenty of flipping.
Nice to see indeed.
Cuttin, why would Dr B be "buying" the stock if he "won" it in a judgement against Moody?
Whatever it takes to go up at this point works for me.
So, if that is the case, what is to stop Moody from starting up a different company and leaving CTTJ behind for Belovich, since he will be the one with majority ownership? I cannot see that Moody would remain with CTTJ if this is true or bring business to the company for Belovich to reap most of the rewards. This is way too confusing.
And to answer that question: YES, they can, and THEY SHOULD!
Mc6102, putting that pr out as they did looks suspicious period, so "Holding" news as you are suggesting they are doing for appearances is equally manipulative and looks even worse. The company has told multiple people on this board, according to those individual's reports that they had news forthcoming. Nothing has come as of yet. They should have never pr'd a "we don't know anything about these rumors" types at all. The best thing they should have done is gone ahead and released news as it was available. You have consistently stated that you don't think news is coming before the middle or end of May. Why would you say that? What do you know? Should we believe that you are speaking from the inside with such certainty in your writings. "I don't expect anything before the 23rd"? Certainly seems plausible at this juncture. "If" that is the case, then the company is even more naive and inexperienced than they look.
So, did Moody's Smart Technology become Smart Data?
Why is Moody trying to run Smart Data and Coastal Tech at the same time? What is the overlap between them? Who are these people? Just employees of SmartData? If they have 20 employees, then why doesn't anyone EVER answer the corporate office lines. Why don't they even state on their answering service that they are SmartData?
Jim Garrett
SmartData Inc
Paul Victor
SmartData Inc
Steve Belovich
SmartData Inc
Mark Flannery
SmartData Inc
Mark Cironi
SmartData Inc
John Herda
SmartData Inc
This web is getting more and more tangled. My question is why has James DiPrima had at least 3 failed businesses in the past 4 years? What happened to his previously owned publicly traded pinky NTCS?
Chief Executive Officer1
SmartData Inc
4816 Brecksville Road Suite #1
Richfield, OH 44286
USA
Website: www.smart-data.com
Phone: (330) 659-2660
President1
Netcoast Communications Inc.
1018 South 90Th Street
Omaha, NE 68114
USA
Website: www.netcoast.net
Phone: (402) 301-9068
Netcoast Communications, Inc. (the Company) is an early stage growth-oriented technology firm supplying products to energy companies used in corrosion testing on natural gas transmission pipelines. The Company is publicly traded on the NASDAQ over-the-counter bulletin board (Symbol: NCST). More
Xpex Inc
14949 Chandler Road
Omaha, Ne 68138
USA
Website: www.xpexinc.com
Phone: (402) 895-3123
Are all of these companies now defunct? Why? What is his deal? All dead ends.
CuttinRog, you have done a bang-up fabulous job on the dd friend. You really have. The only thing that matters now, however, is news from the company. Without it, I'm afraid your dd from this point forward will be in vain.
You hit the nail on the head. That is exactly what I believe. All the supposed news seems to have been smoke and mirrors for selling the last bit of shares. Dead money now?
Welp, no paint is a good sign to me. Reality setting in may be what we need. Don't know what to make of Moody and the rest of them at this point. Does anybody even have a legitimate corporate number for them?
What's the deal behind painting the stock at close. If it ain't movin', painting the close is not going to do any good for the next day either.
Don't know why the bidwhacking is surprising anyone here. This money looks pretty dead to most, so some will sell and move on. The longer the company takes to release news, the more bidwhacking we will see. I just don't know what the hold up is.
All of the DD is great Cuttin'. You can't possibly do any better. Now, the ball is in the company's court. We need news. They need to stop stalling with it.
Read back in the dd that cuttinRug did in the past week, and you will find the answer from the company is NO!
That is how the "news" predictions went from this week to 2 more weeks? Others on the board who have supposedly spoken with Moody recently have said they had 2 prs ready for this week?
Well since last week, a few people have been saying news was coming last week, earlier this week, then by the end of this week, and now next week. So, who the heck knows.
How do you know it will be another 2 weeks until news? Is that an "informed" or "uninformed" guess?
Would like to see a strong steady move instead of the short-lived frenzy we had yesterday.
Was that your buy at the ask?