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you misinterpreted (or I miscommunicated) the "and if so" part of that statement I meant to imply if they are profitable.
also, if the company isn't profitable, I guess their P/E is infinite:D
WWAT is not profitable yet. Their market cap is a few hundred million.
"SPZI share structure is absolutely fried."
That is also an opinion.
Interesting, Ebay has a similar share structure to spzi, and they seem to be doing okay.
IMO, Spooz will be standing on its own two feet without selling any of its 141 stake.
That is an interesting issue though. Let's plan to ask the SPZI management if selling 141 shares would be an option and if so, how would decisions in that regard be made.
AAPL has a P/E of 50 by the way. I think you're confused about what sales/market cap means.
P/E is price per share divided by earnings per share. Multiply the numerator and denominator by the o/s and you'd get market cap divided by earnings. Since earnings are likely about 30% of sales, so your number is way off.
And who uses sales/market cap anyway? The smaller that number is, the more people value the company, so your analysis is even more flawed. I'm guessing you meant to say market cap over earnings, but it's still wrong by a long shot.
"You will hardly find any company out there which is trading on 10 times sales and if you find any it will be a company with unbelievable huge margins and a very constant solide track record over years with very good growth in general for years."
How about the solar energy industry where most of the companies aren't even profitable and if so are trading at PEs of 50-100 or so... it's all about expectations.
And why exactly would mm's be paying 10 bucks a share if it was worth way less...
seems very reasonable, imo. perhaps even a little conservative... one guy on the spzi board (who brought the fs to our attention) said he's looking to get in at these prices... I wonder how he is assessing value.
it will be interesting to see how 141 PRs itself in terms of revenue projections, etc, and how that subsequently affects people's valuation of spzi. For instance, if 141 expects to double its earnings each year, how would that expected growth play into the current spzi share price etc?
Time will tell I guess:D Looking forward to it for sure.
i'm sure you'd like that since you got shares at like 2 bucks, right? nice move (for the time being:D)
I really don't know why anyone would throw 2K at something on a whim... hopefully they know something good that we don't.
72 mil market cap would give spzi an added value of around 20-25 million... that would certainly boost the pps
$25 mil/ 1.5 bil o/s = almost 2 cents a share I reckon
peace,
gbathat
whoops, sorry about that!! thanks for your kind reply and dd!
source of info please... thanks
$10 buy... divide by 50 gives pps of $.20... gives market cap of about $70 mil for 360 mil o/s
nice! jmo...
good question, for all we know they could be trading at 141
I scoured the web for info but found nada.
I emailed 141 and Errol replied Monday- PRs (plural!) should be released shortly! Please note he used the word "should", and "shortly" is certainly open to interpretation. IMO, Errol is a pretty straight-forward guy, and I therefore expect news before Christmas. My best guess is this coming week since the following week is a bit too close to the holiday break.
Here is the exact email:
RE: swarm and other systems
From: emstone (*******@spooz.com)
Sent: Mon 12/03/07 10:58 PM
To: ***********(******@hotmail.com)
Please look for press releases that should be released shortly.
-----Original Message-----
From: ***********(<a href="mailto:******@hotmail.com)" target="_blank"mailto:******@hotmail.com)</a
Sent: Monday, December 03, 2007 7:29
PMTo: info@141capital.com
Subject: swarm and other systems
Dear Errol,
I hope you are doing well and enjoying success in the startup of 141. I have a few questions based on fairly recent updates to the website (which looks great). It states that SWARM will be one of several trading systems used to achieve success regardless of market direction. Before, SWARM was the only system mentioned for the same anticipated result.
1. Will SWARM be the primary system used?
2. If SWARM is used in conjunction with other systems to execute the sametrade, will Spooz receive 7% of the revenues or just a lesser fraction proportioned to SWARM's contribution to the trade?
3. Are these other systems developed? Commercially available? To belicensed from other entities? To be licensed from Spooz? To be developedin-house using STv2?
4. Is SWARM by itself unable to profit under certain market conditions?
I would appreciate any answers that you feel you can provide at this time.If you are unable to do so by email, I would appreciate some attention paidto these issues in future PRs (if there's any room- hopefully they'll bepacked with other good info!). If you do reply, please indicate whether the information can be posted on public web forums. Thanks for your time. Best wishes for a successful journey. Sincerely,
Also interesting to consider this in light of Jame Groves and Peng He being let go from Spooz. Paul specifically mentioned their matching engine expertise.
I think there are two, maybe three, ways to look at their departure. (Yes, this is a balanced board!)
1. The project fell through
2. The matching engine aspect of the software was completed
A third way might be to assume that Peng He and Jame's duties were passed on to someone else (a partner, etc).
What can/should we consider when thinking about these issues?
1. When were these guys hired?
2. Is it possible that the virtual exchange idea surfaced well before Paul even sent that email and that Peng and Groves were brought on board for this matching engine development?
3. How much were they paid? Not sure if we have access to this info, but perhaps we can estimate it from changes in the company operating expenses over the last year. If they were paid huge money, I'd say it is more likely they came in for a "special, short term job". This could make sense in the context that they were not "key Spooz employees" at the time of their dismissal. At the same time, if the project fell through, that would also render them "non-key employees".
4. Can Paul's responses to email questions about their dismissal and current operations give us any clues?
Let's consider some of his recent correspondences...
----------
3. Is the issue "Fractalz" now obsolete because Dr.Peng He left the company?
Dr. Peng has absolutely nothing to do with Fractalz3
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6. Can you give us a rough estimate on how much the burn rate is for the company right now per quarter?
Less than $500,000. The successful sale of the SWARM license to 141 Capital could mean that Spooz will achieve a profitable Q4 2007.
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1. Has there been, is there, and/or will there be any negative impact on the ownership status of any and/or all of the products in the above schedule because of either of these two referenced matters or both of them?
There will be no negative impact with the result of the departure of Dr. Peng and Jame’ Groves. I can not comment further on this matter at this time, however, more information will be forthcoming soon.
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2. Will the products listed in the above schedule be released on schedule or will either of these matters or both of them cause Spooz to change the release schedule in any way?
No. Dr. Peng and Jame’ Groves were managed in such a way as that they would not affect these matters in any way.
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Given this disclosure, please address the following:
1. Were either of these individuals employed long enough to have had their considerable options positions vested?
No options granted to Dr. Peng or Jame’ Groves ever vested. They are forfeit.
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1. Were the two departures related to each other or were each of them unrelated?
They were independent of one another.
2. Whether related or not, did the departures occur on the same date?
No, they were approximately one month apart.
------------
I'd like to know if this news which he thought would have a "monumental" impact on the PPS has been released. Was it something from the expo (ie. 100 million over 4 years, uplisting?) If not, WHEN does he expect to release this news (prior to 08)? I sent him an e-mail prior to the expo and he said soon, however, considering the expo and current PPS I'd like some clarification. I think SPZI is still primed to do well however at the end of the day I think shareholders have a legit concern when the PPS drops so significantly.
Due to recent events being reviewed by our counsel, I can not comment at this time.
--------
5. Is there a pending programming with using SPOOZTOOLZ for creating an exchange to trade other commodities (the "ebay for the rich" idea)?
An answer to this question would provide sensitive and highly proprietary strategic information to the market. I can not provide any information regarding this question at this time.
---------
Just to throw a little discussion out here about Jame Groves and Dr. Peng He.
Big Daddy reports that Daryl told him they were not "Key Employees"???I think Daryl is spinning that one just a little.
This is an errant assumption.
------
Jame Groves was awarded 25 million stock options on May 1, 2007; Dr. Peng He was awarded 20 mil. stock options on May 18, 2007....in both instances millions more than any other employee. Paul Strickland spoke in absolutely glowing terms about the work of Groves and Dr. Peng He in tweaking SWARM during June and the demo trading during July. The On-line Demo. Someone asked "Whose voice is that on the demo? Someone voiced the opinion that "only 4 people understand SWARM well enough to describe it, Jame Groves, Dr. Peng He, Paul and Daryl.I would like to ask several questions about the dismissal of these 2 Non-Key ???? Employees from Spooz, only a couple months about from public availability of SWARM.
------
1. How does their dismissal effect the development of the other software products ie Fractal-Toolz, and others?
Not in the least.
------
2. How many millions of options were they allowed to keep?
Zero, the options have been cancelled.
------
3. Did they have to sign a "Non-disclosure of trade secrets agreement" or any other NDA of propriatary knowledge as a term of their employment by Spooz.
Both Dr. Peng and Jame’ Groves entered into, what we believe, very tight Non-Disclosure/ Non- Compete Agreements.
------
Frankly, the dismissal of Groves and Dr. Peng He IS a big deal IMO.
In a positive or negative way? My point is that you lack the information important to draw such a conclusion or form this opinion.
------
Before this morning, I never really read any of these Q/A in the context of the potential virtual exchange. I think Paul's responses certainly maintain a high level of mystery regarding this issue, and that it is potentially still on the table... any thoughts?
Traderfan,
Some of your notions have merit, but I also feel some were a little unfair.
First, I believe SWARM beta testing was only completed in a confined market sector. When considering a greater market, more opportunities will be available.
Even still, adjusting the constraints a bit to increase trades without sacrificing too much of the success rate is probably something 141 has been optimizing.
Second, yes 50 to perhaps even 100 mil starting capital were thrown around, but smaller numbers were also used (I'm pretty sure I used 10 in my estimates but stated it as a variable).
Third, if 141 is utilizing other software from Spooz (Fractalz3) for instance, I'm sure they'll pay a licensing fee like anyone else. If you look at the 141 site, it has been updated to state that other strategies will be used in conjunction with SWARM. I emailed Errol about this last week, asking specifically if the use of other strategies would affect the Spooz bottom line (positively or negatively), and he said there should be news shortly. I interpret that as before Christmas. However, the word "should" leaves room for unexpected events.
Thanks for your thoughts.
gbathat
good point snow
Me too Soup... even more after reading Paul's most recent response to a question on that issue..
5. Is there a pending programming with using SPOOZTOOLZ for creating an exchange to trade other commodities (the "ebay for the rich" idea)?
An answer to this question would provide sensitive and highly proprietary strategic information to the market. I can not provide any information regarding this question at this time.
(see posts below for more of Paul's answers to recent questions)
repost (Allie's statement about our stake in 141, an estimate based on her conversations with the company. My guess is we see 141 with 300 mil O/S, and if the number is different, our 120 mil number will be adjusted accordingly).
Because we already have over 40% controlling shares in 141 as it stands as Spooz investors and quite frankly...7% is quite fair on top of that...our money helped build SWARM but other investors will be stepping into 141, with hard cold cash, for trading with SWARM...allie
repost (email from Paul about accepting invite to IFC)
FYI - I emailed Mark Jaffe and asked if Spooz was invited to join the International Finance Committee and this was his reply..
Paul Strickland of Spooz has agreed to join the International Finance Committee…we welcome your input! <<...>>
Mark S Jaffe, CEO
Greater NY Chamber of Commerce
20 West 44th
New York City, NY
repost (Q&A with Paul by email) this first one (taken out of place mentions strategic, "secretive" partnerships)
2. Are software demos still occurring at Spooz? If so, about how many traders come per week? Are most of them new, or are they attendees of previous demos looking to learn more?
We are still having demos at Spooz, but not necessarily to individual traders. Most of the recent demos have been to clearing providers and institutions. The attendees are looking to form strategic partnerships with Spooz for the distribution of SpoozToolz. Please don’t ask who they as I can not divulge this information for obvious reasons. We will put out joint press releases as deals are consummated.
---------------------------
I'd like to thank Paul, for taking time out of his weekend to answer the investor/shareholder questions submitted by members of the Spooz IHub board. Very much appreciated!! Allie
Allie,
I wish to express my sincere thanks through you to the Investor’s Hub board for submitting their questions in this fashion. It allows me to focus on priorities and makes me more effective during my hours at the office. The list of questions is rather lengthy, but it is much more efficient for me to respond in this way. Again, thanks to our loyal shareholders for their intelligent questions and their patience in waiting for my responses.
I will answer as many of the questions as I can without providing sensitive strategic information the company deems confidential. My answers appear below in red.
There are many things to come at Spooz and shortly you might fully understand the nature of the value we are bringing to our shareholders. I am hopeful that some of this value will soon be reflected in the price of Spooz stock.
Again, thank you all and keep the faith.
Best Regards,
Paul D. Strickland, Jr.
CEO
29 S. LaSalle St.
Suite 1250
Chicago, IL
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Allie
Sent: Saturday, October 27, 2007 3:11 AM
To: Paul Strickland
Subject: Ihub questions.
Hi Paul,
Below is a rather large list of questions from investors on the Ihub board.
Hopefully you'll have the time over the next few days to look them over and reply to as many of them, as possible.
Thank you very much for your time. Allie
wordplay:
Can Spooz delineate the terms of the Trungdale contract. Is the $17,500 a retainer fee plus cost for work product?
According to the terms of the contract with Trungale, they are to provide us with a long list of services. Almost all of these services are targeted marketing toward the retail market, not professional traders. Because we are not launching until January to the retail public, Trungale has been placed on hold and are not providing us any services at this time. Services are anticipated to begin again in December 2007 as we approach launch.
What work has Trungdale done for Spooz since August through October?
There have been no services rendered by Trungale during that period.
What is the cost for that work?
----------------------------------------------------------------
Gbathat:
1. Is the later release of the auto spreader a strategic business move or is it due to development/testing delays?
It is anticipated that the autospreader will be ready for the market at the time provided at the ValueRich Expo. I believe that was May. There have been no development/testing delays as I don’t believe we ever mentioned the auto spreader until October 18 to the public. The fact is that while the Spooz Auto Spreader will not be ready for market until Q2 2008, SpoozToolz will allow someone with adequate skills to build one as a template. Spooz will provide a platform for the free exchange of templates to accomplish many trading functions such as, as an example, trading treasury swaps, or stock baskets against an index futures contract, or delta neutral options positions, etc. We anticipate having hundreds of templates, no thousands.
2. Are software demos still occurring at Spooz? If so, about how many traders come per week? Are most of them new, or are they attendees of previous demos looking to learn more?
We are still having demos at Spooz, but not necessarily to individual traders. Most of the recent demos have been to clearing providers and institutions. The attendees are looking to form strategic partnerships with Spooz for the distribution of SpoozToolz. Please don’t ask who they as I can not divulge this information for obvious reasons. We will put out joint press releases as deals are consummated.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Diabolic:
When will the IPO or RTO happen? End of October? Does it depend on Kauderer now?
I am not at liberty to divulge the timing of this information, however, I can tell you that much more information will be available by the end of October. It is dependant upon a number of factors including The Kauderer Group, FINRA (formerly the NASD) and others. Check for press releases as they will be coming soon.
How much capital are you going to raise for 141 Capital?
The Kauderer group has told us that they will be raising $3 million.
What is the total market cap expected for 141 Capital?
This information will be made available in a Disclosure Statement which will be made available shortly to the public.
Will Spooz own more or less 40% of the total Outstanding Shares? aka 120 million shares of a total 250 million shares maybe?
This information will be made available in a Disclosure Statement which will be made available shortly to the public.
How much money is going to be invested into SWARM through 141 Capital (not research and development but trading capital)?
The $3 million coming into 141 Capital is both working and trading capital. It will be professionally managed in such a way as to generate a compliance track record. 141 may develop investment products for either or both the public and for institutions.
Will part of the profits be reinvested into this trading capital?
This has not been determined.
3. Can members of the IHub board be of more help the company in any way? i.e., with IR, etc.
Stay active, ask the right questions, continue to perform due diligence, and keep the quality up. You are all doing a fine job and I believe the board is a very valuable asset to Spooz and will be to 141.
4. If Spooz had a theme song, what would it be?*
----------------------------------------------------------------
The Seeker:
Regarding the revenue projections $180 million which is much lower than unofficial $450 million dollars that was being floated around earlier. What was included in the make up of those numbers? Can you list what was included?
First, let me provide you with my definition of a revenue projection. A projection is merely a snapshot of management’s best guess of future events given the information available at a specific point in time. Are projections accurate? Some are. For example, analysts project quarterly revenues for large companies all the time. They consider historical company information, the economy, new technologies, fundamental changes in the industry, mergers and acquisitions, etc. The difference between analysts projecting for larger companies and Spooz’s projections is that much more information is available for large companies. They have a historical record. This affects accuracy tremendously. The truth is that we simply don’t know what the future will bring in terms of rapid market acceptance, acquisition of market share and product oriented revenue traction. We believe we have positioned Spooz in the best possible way, given the resources we have had available to us, to achieve extremely rapid growth, but there are so many unknown factors that projections can be relegated to the category of “best guess.” Again, we believe we have the right people, a disruptive product in a large growth market, and the resources to achieve very rapid growth, but despite our best efforts to identify and mitigate risks, there are many unknowns.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Boca Bobby:
Is the share structure of the two companies impacted in any way? I mean I know we currently have about 1.5B shares. When listing our American company on a foreign exchange, is there a whole new share structure on the given exchange?
Are the revenues from are American company to be split between the shares listed on the American exchange with the shares listed on the foreign exchange? Or, are there just the 1.5B shares that get fought for over several different exchanges?
These matters are currently being managed by the Kauderer Group. We do not know the structure or the timing, however, we do know that The Kauderer Group has sent representatives to Europe, where they are at present, to gather information. As soon as we have a full explanation we will supply it to you.
----------------------------------------------------------------
mtncabin:
What advantages does Spooz see in pursuing an International presence at this time given that this presence will require more resources than just a U.S. presence and the U.S. markets appear to support the attainment of the revenue projections presented at the EXPO?
We have associations in other places besides the U.S. These friends can make things happen in other markets. The more I learn about business the more the old adage, “its not what … its who,” makes sense at this level.
----------------------------------------------------------------
MIKE FLETCHER:
How does 141 generate their revenue? Is their revenue generated by simply charging a fee to manage investor's money or does 141 actually realize 100% of trading profits as revenue?
141 Capital is intending to produce revenue in two ways. First, it will trade for its own account using SWARM and other systems already developed or to be developed. Very soon, the personnel acquired to operate trading and development at 141 will be revealed to all, but I can assure you that these people have great backgrounds. One must understand that 141 will continually develop proprietary trading systems because markets change and we would be foolish to base an effort of this magnitude on any single system, no matter how good it is. Remember that no system works under all market conditions, or at least, I have never seen one that does.
The second way 141 will make money is through managing accounts based upon a revenue sharing formula. There is a fundamental difference between the derivatives markets and the securities markets due to incentive regulations. When one manages a securities portfolio for a client, a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) is not permitted to share in the profits from trading activity. This is why money managers charge a fee that is generally tied to a percentage of the assets under management. This fee can be charged monthly, quarterly, etc.
For derivatives, Commodity Trading Advisors (CTA) and Commodity Pool Operators can share in the profits and charge a management fee. 141 will constantly develop investment products and charge participants a management fee (average management fees are about 2% per annum, but some CTAs charge as much as 2% per quarter) and an incentive fee (average incentive fees are about 20% of new profits charged monthly or quarterly but I have seen these fees as high as 70% in some circumstances). Generally speaking, CTAs manage individual accounts that can be quite large. 141 intends manage some of these large accounts. CPOs manage a pool of funds where investment capital may be as little as $3,000.
IdiotFromFresno
1) What is the current share structure and will the company need to issue additional shares before product release?
I do not have access to the exact number this weekend as I am not writing this from my office, but we have a number of options available to us. Those who are have been exposed to creative financing techniques might understand how it may be possible for Spooz to self finance under certain conditions, however, that being said, there are generally only two ways to raise money (we won’t discuss hybrids here); 1) debt, and 2) equity. When you raise equity dollars, you pay stock for cash which has a duel affect, it is dilutionary and it adds value. The correct question to ask with respect to financing is, “Are the terms equitable for shareholders with respect to added value?” I hope this answers your question but I really can’t comment further at this time.
2) Can we get weekly updates (from 141) on the swarm trading progress? It would be nice to know how swarm has performed over the last few volatile weeks.
SWARM is not currently being traded because 141 is currently being set-up and staffed. As per compliance regulations, 141 Capital is required to report trading results and those published trading results are subject to audit by the National Futures Association, which means, they will be audited, especially considering the fact that 141 Capital will be a public company.
2) Will the 50 million funding have any negative impact on current investors?
What $50 million funding? If there were a $50 million funding I believe it would be very positive for investors but the true story is in the answer to your question 1.
goleafsgo
1. You mentioned one customer, can he elaborate on who or how many subscriptions this customer may or already has brought to the table.
Not at this time, it is a fluid, evolving situation.
2. In terms of shareholder expectations, is the remaining 2007 year going to be relatively quite or are there plans to make a number of PR's prior to 2008.
There will be additional news coming during the rest of 2007. The reason there has not been much of late is due to the formation and public listing of 141 Capital, Inc. Although 141 will be a totally separate company, with a separate management team and different geographic location, its formation has been time consuming. Rest assured, however, Spooz’s development team has been devoting 100% of its time to SpoozToolz and its attending modules.
Birdito:
Are you currently working on any other SWARM spin-offs? (i.e non-derivative uses)
No, thank you, we have our hands quite full at the moment.
How are things progressing with Fractalz3? When I spoke with Daryl last, he mentioned it wouldn't be ready for market until summer 2008; any new news in that regard?
We do have plans to release Fractalz3 as a SpoozToolz module in Q2 of 2008. There is not much remaining in terms of development for Fractalz3, however, it is not a priority for us at this time. SpoozToolz, SpoozChartz, the Custom Pricing Module and the Auto-spreader are at the top of the priority list.
You've been quoted on the IHUB board as having said "I could sell 4000 Stv2 licenses myself, with no marketing, next year". If that is the case, why the low-ball estimate at the expo.
Because investors who fund micro-cap companies totally disregard inflated projections and discount management’s projections.
Is there any chance that Spooz will turn a profit before June of next year (2008)?
Ahhhhhhhhh……but of course.
What new operating costs are you anticipating in the next year?
I don’t have those details, but in answer to your question, yes. Any growth stage company that is achieving its milestones has an ever increasing appitite for capital. The objective is manage it so that it produces more than it eats.
How many new staff are you planning to add?
I believe we will grow to 27 employees by end of 2008, but this is conditional on many, many unknown factors and assumptions. Again, these are projections.
Jcrom…
The website had stated for some time that STv2 was available to select professional trading firms. Now it no longer states that, but simply states STv2 will be available soon. But we have been hearing roughly the same thing for a couple years now. Was STv2 in fact tried by any trading firms other than SPOOZ? For several years now we shareholders have been lead to the foot of the mountain with fanfare and high hopes, only to have the cold water of more delays splashed on us. Is there any developmental schedule SPOOZ is adhering to, or is this just a shot in the dark? The brief interlude involving the development of SWARM and the subsequent formation of 141 is promising, but it seems STv2 has gone backward in the interim. When can we expect to see SpoozToolz commercially available to the trading public?
In January 2008, probably toward the end of the month.
Also, I noticed a few months back that SPOOZ filed another REGDEX. Can we expect equity financing in the near future and further dilution?
I believe this question has been answered, but again, Spooz has a number of options available to it regarding financing. I can say nothing further on this matter.
Repost (One of many with email responses from Paul)
Here are Paul's answers to investor questions. Thanks everyone for submitting your questions this week and last. And thanks Paul for taking the time to respond to them . allie
I apologize if I missed any questions. If so, please resend them for this week, thanks.
Allie,
My answers appear in red below.
Thanks again to our shareholders for asking the right questions and providing me with a venue to respond in an efficient manner.
All the Best,
Paul
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Allie
Sent: Saturday, November 03, 2007 3:43 PM
To: Paul Strickland
Subject: Ihub questions....
Hi Paul,
There are a fair number of questions here and I appreciate your time in answering any of them that you are able to.
All the best, Allie
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Traderfan
1. Can you please comment on the relationship with Ameritrade and whether we still have a deal with them or WILL have a deal with them in the near future? Afterall this name was dropped a couple of months ago already.
We do have a marketing agreement in place with TDAmeritrade.
2. The same question about Interactive Brokers. A couple of weeks ago we learned that Interactive Brokers would be (is) very interested in ST2 because they have a lot of Professionals trading there.
We do have an affiliate agreement in place with IB and are in the process of negotiating a marketing agreement with them, together with several other large electronic execution providers. There are seven large targeted brokers for us that represent, what we project, represents 80% of our domestic market.
3. Is the issue "Fractalz" now obsolete because Dr.Peng He left the company?
Dr. Peng has absolutely nothing to do with Fractalz3.
4. Can you please tell us whether it's correct that SPZI forecasts a 50% net income margin on ST2 as you pointed out in one of the slides at the EXPO? If not how big will it be?
The projected gross margin for SpoozToolz is in excess of 80%.
5. Will SPZI ever do something against the huge number of outstanding shares once it makes money from operations? I mean clearly no company with o/s at 1.5 billion and trading under a penny a share will get taken seriously in the international market place. I guess if you really want to make "waves" in the "trading systems business world" out there I guess listing on the pink sheets is not looking very serious to others.
I can not comment on this at this time. We are concentrating on products and profitability at this time. After profitability is achieved, the solution to this problem will become much more clear.
6. Can you give us a rough estimate on how much the burn rate is for the company right now per quarter?
Less than $500,000. The successful sale of the SWARM license to 141 Capital could mean that Spooz will achieve a profitable Q4 2007.
7. Are you in any way concerned about possible competitors who might want to follow up with a similar product than ST2 is, especially given your recent delays of the launch? What I mean is shouldn't have Spooz launched the software as early as possible to have a "time advantage" against other companies maybe trying to come up with something similar or is everything totally secured because of the patents?
We are always concerned about competition. The level of competition will be commensurate with our financial success. This is the reason we are so focused upon rapid market penetration as opposed to time to market.
8. Did any serious interest come up from the EXPO?
We have seen considerable interest at an international level.
9. What advantage does it have to launch the 141 stock also in germany?
Access to additional working and trading capital together with marketing and distribution.
10. Is there any serious money lined up to invest into SWARM once this trading model generates a decent official track record? I guess it will not run with only 3 million very long in case it is successful, will it?
Trading capital for 141 will be subject to reportable trading track records. These questions should be submitted to Errol Stone.
11. I have always asked myself why Spooz is only going to get 7% of the net income numbers from 141/SWARM when in fact SWARM is owned 100% by Spooz. I mean I understand that the guys who arrange and provide the money get a decent piece of the pie but could you help us understand why that is 93% of the net income? I realize that many investors didn't understand this in the first place and were disappointed by it.
I believe I have answered this question many time before. We believe that, overall, the Spooz/141 deal is very generous to Spooz shareholders especially since SWARM is one of many potential proprietary trading systems that will be employed by 141 Capital.
12. Is there anything still to become official out of the "quiet period" or was the 141 license deal in regards to futures for SWARM the only thing that got developed during the quiet period? I guess I'm asking because a couple of weeks ago you said that this is just "the tip of the iceberg" and so we hoped that somethin else is coming out of this quiet period soon....
More of the “iceberg” will become visible in the next few weeks. There are a great many things to be revealed to our shareholders, but timing is everything.
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Imperial Whazoo
QUESTION AREA #1
Paul, in your presentation at the ValueRich Expo, your slide #9 contained a release schedule for the Spooz product line. It was as follows:
PRODUCT LAUNCH DATE
SpoozToolz January 2008
Custom Pricing Module January 2008
SpoozChartz January 2008
API for 3rdParty Developers March 2008
Fractalz3 April 2008
Advanced Auto-Spreader May 2008
Two matters are the subject of my concerns as regards the release schedule:
(A) Recently, it has been disclosed that Jame Groves & Dr. Peng He are no longer employeed by Spooz.
(B) It has also been disclosed that regulatory filings as regards the sale of shares have been filed by Spooz.
Given these two matters, please address the following questions:
1. Has there been, is there, and/or will there be any negative impact on the ownership status of any and/or all of the products in the above schedule because of either of these two referenced matters or both of them?
There will be no negative impact with the result of the departure of Dr. Peng and Jame’ Groves. I can not comment further on this matter at this time, however, more information will be forthcoming soon.
2. Will the products listed in the above schedule be released on schedule or will either of these matters or both of them cause Spooz to change the release schedule in any way?
No. Dr. Peng and Jame’ Groves were managed in such a way as that they would not affect these matters in any way.
QUESTION AREA #2
Paul, in the 6 month financial filing dated 06/08/07, there is a table showing that both Jame Groves & Dr. Peng He were granted substantial options positions in connection with their employment.
On page 4 of that document, under the heading of "Incentive Stock Options - Jurisdiction in Illinois", the following is the relevant data:
DATE NAME # OF OPTIONS
1-May-07 Jame Groves 25,000,000
18-May-07 Peng He 20,000,000
Given this disclosure, please address the following:
1. Were either of these individuals employed long enough to have had their considerable options positions vested?
No options granted to Dr. Peng or Jame’ Groves ever vested. They are forfeit.
2. Regarding options granted by Spooz in general, including but not limited to those granted to these two individuals, is there some time frame requirement that pertains? For example, does federal and/or state law and/or regulation specify a one year time frame?
Not that I am aware of. This is contractual via the terms of the Spooz Incentive Stock Options Plan (“ISOP”).
QUESTION AREA #3
1. Were the two departures related to each other or were each of them unrelated?
They were independent of one another.
2. Whether related or not, did the departures occur on the same date?
No, they were approximately one month apart.
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stocrates
In your reply to Allies' email of 8-17 you replied that
" a reverse split or continued dilution of the companies stock was out of the question."
Do you continue to maintain this position.
Yes, at this time, no reverse splits are planned or contemplated.
jdre
Please do. I'd like to know if this news which he thought would have a "monumental" impact on the PPS has been released. Was it something from the expo (ie. 100 million over 4 years, uplisting?) If not, WHEN does he expect to release this news (prior to 08)? I sent him an e-mail prior to the expo and he said soon, however, considering the expo and current PPS I'd like some clarification. I think SPZI is still primed to do well however at the end of the day I think shareholders have a legit concern when the PPS drops so significantly.
Due to recent events being reviewed by our counsel, I can not comment at this time.
peeved
1. Is there still a deal with Ameritrade regarding the API?
See above.
2. Have you considered giving SPZI warrants to buy 141 shares as a way to raise further capital for 141.
No.
3. What is an estimation of how much you value SWARM as far as leasing to outside companies?
This is totally a matter of historical track record. We do not have enough data to answer this question.
4. Of the 4000 projected customers in 2008, what percentage do you believe will be purchasing the whole shebang ($600/ month worth)?
We project 50% will purchase the Z-Pro package.
5. Is there a pending programming with using SPOOZTOOLZ for creating an exchange to trade other commodities (the "ebay for the rich" idea)?
An answer to this question would provide sensitive and highly proprietary strategic information to the market. I can not provide any information regarding this question at this time.
vanbookie
Just to throw a little discussion out here about Jame Groves and Dr. Peng He.
Big Daddy reports that Daryl told him they were not "Key Employees"???
I think Daryl is spinning that one just a little.
This is an errant assumption.
Jame Groves was awarded 25 million stock options on May 1, 2007; Dr. Peng He was awarded 20 mil. stock options on May 18, 2007....in both instances millions more than any other employee.
Paul Strickland spoke in absolutely glowing terms about the work of Groves and Dr. Peng He in tweaking SWARM during June and the demo trading during July.
The On-line Demo. Someone asked "Whose voice is that on the demo? Someone voiced the opinion that "only 4 people understand SWARM well enough to describe it, Jame Groves, Dr. Peng He, Paul and Daryl.
I would like to ask several questions about the dismissal of these 2 Non-Key ???? Employees from Spooz, only a couple months about from public availability of SWARM.
1. How does their dismissal effect the development of the other software products ie Fractal-Toolz, and others?
Not in the least.
2. How many millions of options were they allowed to keep?
Zero, the options have been cancelled.
3. Did they have to sign a "Non-disclosure of trade secrets agreement" or any other NDA of propriatary knowledge as a term of their employment by Spooz.
Both Dr. Peng and Jame’ Groves entered into, what we believe, very tight Non-Disclosure/ Non- Compete Agreements.
Frankly, the dismissal of Groves and Dr. Peng He IS a big deal IMO.
In a positive or negative way? My point is that you lack the information important to draw such a conclusion or form this opinion.
Mountaincabin
Allie,
Will you please add this question to this week's list for Paul?
What is Spooz doing to accomodate the needs of the traders and other who participated in the testing of Spooz products earier this year until the official launch? Thanks in advance.
I do not understand this question. If you want to know, are we providing product give-aways to traders, the answer is no. That’s not to say that we will not consider such situations if we feel that it is in the best interests of the Spooz shareholders.
gbathat
Allie, if not too late, please add the following to the list of Q's for Paul...
Who will be taking over Errol's duties at spooz? Are they looking to hire someone else?
Errol will remain as the Secretary of Spooz and will remain on its board of directors. We believe Errol to be a valuable asset to the company and our agreement ensures that he will perform certain duties for Spooz during the transition.
I think this PR is a good one... things are definitely moving.
This would be a correct and insightful assumption.
If I recall correctly, it was in an email from Paul. I'll go digging... I really need to start saving valuable posts to my hard drive rather than my brain:D
based on Allie's conversation with Spooz mngmnt not long after the first PRs about 141.
Actually, spooz is not a trading company. They are a software company.
141 is the trading company, 1/3 of which is owned by spooz.
Get your dd straight.
I think discussion about a r/s is pointless at this time.
In the interest of new members of this board who might be scared of such comments as "a r/s is inevetable" (ooh scary), I'll go on to discuss it anyway...
First, Paul has a history of taking care of shareholders and would likely only r/s for our benefit. I do not think he will r/s and dilute later (every penny holders worst fear). Spooz has major partners on board, has revenues from 141, and will have STv2 revenues coming soon. I say, no more need for dilution. Paul indicated they'll need money for the launch/marketing, but my guess is that will be borrowed and paid back within a short period.
Uplisting later to Nasdaq for instance might merit a reverse split at some point, but not anytime soon in my opinion. Based on the CONSERVATIVE revenue projections from the company, an r/s would likely be required for uplisting to Nasdaq anytime in the next three years.
However, if Spooztoolz catches on like some professional traders think it will (see Fedfunz posts), we may all be surprised at how fast revenues grow.
Any analysis of this issue is speculative at best, so let's just focus on the real issues at hand for the time being- the launch, the marketing, the 141 startup, the new offices, etc.
No point debating a scenario that none of us have enough dd to support.
Hope everyone's having a good weekend.
Peace,
gbathat
correction: net earnings for oxps ~ $88 million, not 63 as I previously stated
also, another similar company, TRAD (tradestation), has a market cap in the neighborhood of 650 mil for annual earnings of about 34 million.
so it looks to me like a P/E of 20 or so is representative for long term estimates (if market conditions are similar)
all my opinions. I am not a financial expert and this is not trading advice.
My guess would be NYC or London... just a guess.
Historical data for options express, a company with similarities to spooz (not totally similar though, I think spooz will have higher profit margins since spooz is a software company only) and a sales growth rate similar to spooz projections
Current market cap... $1.86 billion!! Their current net earnings are around 63 million. P/E is around 20.
Fiscal Year Ending Sales (mil)
12/31/02 $17.3
12/31/03 $48.2
12/31/04 $93.1
12/31/05 $129.0
12/31/06 $186.9
12/31/07 E (TTM) $227.6
Makes you wonder about the possiblities with spzi!!
New to this board? read this (find other good info in the ibox above!)
Posted by: fedfunz
In reply to: wing_walker who wrote msg# 16701
Date:7/11/2007 11:39:13 AM
Post #of 39185
All,
Spent an another amazing demo session at Spooz with some doubtful friends who have been trading professionally for twenty years. Within 15 minutes of the demo the jaw dropping began. A little further into the demo one friend asked the "how do you do this" question and answer it in laymens terms and Jaime launched into a pretty good explanation of Spooz for dummy's explanation of how. I have to admit that after about the 8th time hearing it, it is beginning to sink in as to how Spooz works.
As I read through the posts here many said that Spooz advantage is its speed and that is a part of it. The real guts is a paradigm shift in the nature of trading. For professional traders it takes about 15 minutes to "get it" so I not posting it here. Lets just say everyone I have brought in to see it, thinks its a life changing product.
One friend said he was considering stopping trading till Spooz is released.
All were amazed at the low cost of the software when compared to what is available for professional traders today and what Spooz offers.
I do not know when it is going to be released and I do not know anything else I can tell the board about clients signing up but, please, be assured that whenever this thing comes out it will be like a wildfire across a dry, hot plains. It will demolish the competition in every category.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
God grant me the serenity to deal with the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can and should; and wisdom to know the difference.
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Add Board Mark SPZI Report TOS Violation
Worth a re-post, don't want it getting lost in all the meaningful discussion of late;)
First off, for those of you guys who are going to bash the word "soon", please don't bother even reading my post. For everyone else, this isn't much, but very promising nonetheless.
Email from Paul, 5 minutes ago.
Allen,
I have recently returned from a very successful trip and I can report to you that we are working harder at Spooz than at anytime in our history. We are preparing for our expected launch in January 2008 and are on schedule. Things look great and although I can not reveal who our distribution partners are at this stage we will deliver product to at least 3 large brokers in January.
Look for news soon on the 141 Capital front as it is rapidly nearing completion.
Have a great weekend.
Best Regards,
Paul
Thanks Tyrran! The spooz train is on track and leaving the station soon!!
All aboard!!
Agreed, the website still needs a lot of work. Thankfully, the website is probably not the primary tool they'll be using to sell the software. It sounds like they will be doing demos at prop houses and locking in the pros initially.
But for Joe Basement, futures trader, it would be good to get the website into shape. Especially if a buzz starts amongst the industry once people start using it. The website is likely the first place some will go, and it needs to attract them, definitely not push them away.
This is an issue that has been discussed in the past, and some improvements were made. I would recommend contacting the company (probably not Paul since he's got bigger fish to fry). Someone over there should make sure it gets edited.
It is also possible that they will launch a whole new site all at once before launch though, so maybe they don't want to waste time now.
Gbathat
insights from a distant friend who walks on bird appendages
"A little insight.
I had the pleasure of meeting fedfunz at the shareholder meeting.
fedfunz is a professional trader. Since he was working for an independant prop house at the time, he is extremely knowledgeable in the workings of trading software currently being used by other professionals and prop houses in and around the CBOT. Consequently, after learning of SpoozToolz and how powerful SpoozToolz is, fedfunz walked away from his current prop house and now markets SpoozToolz to other professional traders and prop houses in the future industry.
Hope this helps."
http://ragingbull.quote.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=SPZI&read=7594
not sure if this is speculative on ww's part or dd, but it makes sense and falls in line with our thoughts here
Actually, after reading this classic post again, perhaps Fedfunz will be involved in sales, primarily in helping other professional traders "get it".
Posted by: fedfunz
In reply to: wing_walker who wrote msg# 16701
Date:7/11/2007 11:39:13 AM
Post #of 39185
All,
Spent an another amazing demo session at Spooz with some doubtful friends who have been trading professionally for twenty years. Within 15 minutes of the demo the jaw dropping began. A little further into the demo one friend asked the "how do you do this" question and answer it in laymens terms and Jaime launched into a pretty good explanation of Spooz for dummy's explanation of how. I have to admit that after about the 8th time hearing it, it is beginning to sink in as to how Spooz works.
As I read through the posts here many said that Spooz advantage is its speed and that is a part of it. The real guts is a paradigm shift in the nature of trading. For professional traders it takes about 15 minutes to "get it" so I not posting it here. Lets just say everyone I have brought in to see it, thinks its a life changing product.
One friend said he was considering stopping trading till Spooz is released.
All were amazed at the low cost of the software when compared to what is available for professional traders today and what Spooz offers.
I do not know when it is going to be released and I do not know anything else I can tell the board about clients signing up but, please, be assured that whenever this thing comes out it will be like a wildfire across a dry, hot plains. It will demolish the competition in every category.
Also speaks to the status of Spooztoolz... from what I gather, Fedfunz is not a programmer, just a trader. Why would Spooz hire someone like that??? probably not for fixing any glitches!
My guess is he will head up the customer assistance efforts (training people to use the software and handle questions) and perhaps do on-site training at brokerages, etc.
Have a great day everyone,
Gbathat
Thanks Fedfunz (and Allie)!
Your insights locked me into Spooz for the long haul, and this just seals the deal for me. Your actions testify to the power of Spooztoolz. Best of luck to you.
Didn't a recent basher ask about Spooz hiring??? Guess that answers that question! Yup!
Gbathat
okay, time's up. surely you could've scanned through my last two days of posts by now... interesting.
Really, what did it say? How did I obtain that list?
Sure, this message board. I posted that info less than two days ago. What, you don't read all the posts?
so if you had a program that was full of glitches, how many future clients would you want testing it? Brokers from one company? Two? Three? Probably not 15! My guess is the software would be pretty darn close to perfect by that point.
Alaron Futures
Ceres Capital
Cunningham Commodities
Dorman Trading
FC Stone
Fortis
Global Futures
Interactive Brokers
Merrill Lynch
O’Connor and Company
RedSky Financial
Shatkin Arbor
Spike Trading
Tenco
Wolverine
Why don't you start by watching the conference presentation? In it you will hear peoples' opinion of the software?
Why don't you watch the demo online? Why don't you try to check out the Fractalz3 (add it to your shopping cart) and accidentally stumble across the impressive list of brokerages that already have access to the software?