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If positive guidance is forthcoming before EOY 2009 .0020 NORTH could be in order
I would agree that this is much-thinner than most realize. It's a healthy process to have some of our respective old holders bow-out. The fire through the forest so to speak--
Below conjecture and DD is from old posts. See IBOX***
A great deal of the below still applies to current trading activity and to future prospects for BUNM/hypster.com
Welcome to new holders, prospective holders and best of luck to those who have sold for profit or loss.
Regards,
"PTS"
"PASSTHESALT" - #msg-36127097
No one truly knows but let me say that in the event of a lucrative and totally unexpected buyout announcement at 1,000,000 or 1,600,000 or 1,999,000 this issue could see volume over the billion mark in the period of ONE trading day.
IME what the approach to 1,000,000 will do is inject more (buying) speculation about positive prospects for new initiatives and/or buyout prospects.
"PASSTHESALT" - #msg-36082277
BUNM is showing more-bullish tendencies as we approach 1,000,000. RSI is still around 50% mark so we have plenty of upside.
We ought to be attractive for investors in that we continue to be at the bottom of a major cup and handle formation. This economy has reduced money flows into plays like ours but once we approach and hit 1,000,000 the speculation premium is going to kick in.
Price as always is going to follow sustained volume.
I do not think there is going to be any warning about when news will come our way. The co. has been running on silent mode for quite a while and I don't believe 'news' is going to come through any unofficial channels. If news is 'leaked' we could see huge volume increase but other than that major news will likely come with no warning whatsoever.
For all any one of us know--the co. could now be engaged in serious and substantive talks with a buyout suitor. If not--the hypster member base will continue to grow in an exponential manner.
Last year on this date (262,443 USERS March 5th 2008)!!! We are approaching 925,000 currently March 5th 2009)!!!!
The potential of hypster.com IME is basically 'untapped' when you look at the potential streams of income the co. could yet obtain from its customer 'base.' Any of the above is additional to any current monies now obtained through ad revenues.
I currently don't see indication from BUNM management that they intend to mine these revenue streams--rather I see a buyout entity moving this to the next level.
Who doesn't believe the odds are greater for a buyout offer with 1,000,000 users rather than 262,443?
IMO there ought to be numerous entities who can 'see the light' and see that hypster.com could be their present and future business survival and pay for the privilege accordingly.
For the naysayers--take a look at the kind of money that Best Buy threw at napster.com (HINT excess of 120 million) and you will quickly deduct the actual and potential value of digital music media sites like ours.
Yes .0005 will be a key test as will .0010 or .0050 for that matter. We need to show the investment community that this PPS can move but also in order to develop volume momentum. We need and welcome all types of investors.
Right now IME BUNM is a case of the 'extreme.' The current 'extreme' is how low the PPS is in light of the value that has grown. There are a number of unknowns but what is known is that this is not an overvalued stock!!! The PPS has not adequately reflected the growth of the property--so I make the point that this issue is extremely undervalued.
I think all of our understandable excitement about the user growth of hypster.com has obscured how attractive the investment opportunity is at these levels .0001-.0002
Fortunately the focus is now fixing more on the stock, PPS etc. We will continue to attract new investors and of course WELCOME NEW BOARD MEMBERS! The following statement is for all shareholders but particularly new or prospective holders. It's important to view the flagship property of BUNM in the proper context:
Last year on April 1st 2008 hypster.com attained 300,000 users,
1,000,000 will be ATTAINED early April 2009.
333% (+) Growth Rate in ONE YEAR!!!!!!
300,000 X 333% = 999,000
Advertisers and associated revenues can't help but notice the above growth percentage. Hypster.com audience is exponentially growing!!
******************************
THE POTENTIAL FUTURE of hypster.com using a bullish/exponential growth rate :
1,000,000 X 333% = (3,330,000) by April 2010 ??????????
3,330,000 X 333% = (11,088,900) April 2011 ??????????????
Glad to hear all is well for you and yours Maclorjoe! Siesta Key sounds beautiful. I expect some positive news here before EOY as well.
Yes...patience must be a virtue. The site is operational and nearing 1.5 million users and some keep omitting the fact that we are merely in the worst-recession in 70 years. The above tends to change if not shelf certain business opportunities and plans. Things change and the unexpected challenges must be dealt with.
The lack of news here tends to eliminate a dynamic PPS--fueled by speculative buying activity. The fact that minimal trading activity here is not occurring does not necessarily mean this co. is worthless. In fact, the opposite could very much be the case.
Your thought about any unexpected positive news could change the dynamic here within minutes. In the meantime--it's not a very dynamic trading environment. No this BUNM board isn't a highly speculative or enthusiastic place especially of late.
Some who have come and gone here seem to have extreme cases of 'hope-itis.' The CEO and everyone else has to face something called reality and biding time. Everyone here of course is welcome to proffer their opinions of course but when ones opinion is based on unfounded optimism or unfounded pessism it should be called into some question.
We've heard a great deal of negative chatter of late.
Any one out there have contrary feelings/positive ideas about hypster.com/BUNM?
'For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin--real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way. Something to be got through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.'
Father Alfred D'Souza
All these negative posts are wonderful reverse psychology efforts to supposedly induce communication from the CEO ....however, so far these posts have been proven to be unsuccessful.
Perhaps energies are better spent elsewhere for our dear departed or very-disgruntled.
It would be refreshing indeed to see positive or even neutral-minded posts here. The above might even bring 'new blood' to the table.
.....the sky has fallen---someone send me the memo
64,500 (+) additional users added here since (July 1st 2009)
Media moguls rethink Web advertising in downturn
Sat Jul 25, 2009 12:37pm EDT
By Gina Keating and Alex Dobuzinskis
PASADENA, Calif (Reuters) - The recession-fueled advertising downturn underlines the urgency of using the Web to glean data and target consumers directly, rather than blasting them with a barrage of TV-style ads, media executives say.
At the Fortune Brainstorm: TECH conference in Pasadena this week, Walt Disney Co Chief Executive Robert Iger opened a discussion about new ways to market to consumers, when he described himself as, "pretty bullish about what technology is going to allow in terms of behavioral tracking."
Executives from AOL, a division of Time Warner Inc, News Corp and IAC/InterActiveCorp echoed similar hopes about the potential to reach consumers online.
As advertising dollars grow ever more scarce, companies have been forced to rethink how they reach consumers and have moved away from the traditional 30-second spot to the kinds of targeted, Internet-driven marketing campaigns that have been talked about for years.
Internet advertising in the United States -- a $23.4 billion market in 2008 -- was down 5 percent in the first quarter of this year and Iger and other executives say the sector may not return to the historic growth trajectory seen before the recession.
Jonathan Miller, head of News Corp's Digital Media Group, believes advertising is undergoing, "fundamental changes ... and you have to tease them out of the recession effects.
"Marketing is on an arc to become more efficient. My dollar should go further. And that says the advertising pool may not grow at the rate that it's traditionally grown at, even out of this recession."
HITTING THE TARGET
Targeting consumers via demographics, profiling, and their social networks, "you learn a lot about people and you can identify them," Miller added.
The thinking among these media executives is that advances in technology is enabling them to build more detailed profiles of consumers -- which can then either be sold as a commodity or employed in their own marketing campaigns.
AOL Chief Executive Tim Armstrong, former sales chief at Google Inc, also sees new marketing opportunities from consumer referrals and tracking.
"Where people actually go, what they do, how they do it," he said. "It's not just about data, it's about the insight. If you're Procter & Gamble, or Kellogg's, or Coke or whatever, forget all the data. What is the insight you get out of it? How does that actually change your perception?"
But Ed Moran, director of product innovation for Deloitte, said tracking tastes and developing profiles is fine, as long as advertisers do not make the old media mistake of finding their optimum consumers, only to show them a commercial.
Moran said next-generation advertising will be driven by the tastes and habits of 14 to 24 year-old "millennials" whose lives center on social networks and Internet-enabled handsets.
"A more effective way of reaching these young folks ... is to use their social networks as influencers, rather than bombarding them with ads," Moran said.
To that end, Barry Diller, chief executive of Web giant IAC/InterActiveCorp, said Internet advertising must evolve from displays and become integrated into the content of websites.
Even actor and media producer Ashton Kutcher chimed in at the conference, saying the billboard-style display ad is already outdated.
"People who have grown up on the Internet have trained themselves not to see it," he added.
(Reporting by Gina Keating and Alex Dobuzinskis; editing by Edwin Chan and Andre Grenon))
© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved
Diller Calls Free Web Content a ‘Myth, Joins Refrain
By Brett Pulley and Andy Fixmer
July 24 (Bloomberg) -- Barry Diller, chairman and chief executive officer of IAC/InterActiveCorp, said Web users will have to pay for what they watch and use, joining the refrain of media moguls who say an era of free Internet content is ending.
The media and technology executive, whose company runs the Ask.com search engine and the Match.com dating service, said it’s “mythology” to view the Internet as a system of free communications.
“It is not free, and is not going to be,” Diller said today at the Fortune Brainstorm conference in Pasadena, California. In addition to IAC, he is chairman of Expedia Inc., the online travel service, and Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc.
Diller, 67, joined a group of media chiefs, from Liberty Media Corp.’s John Malone to Walt Disney Co. CEO Robert Iger, who are challenging the accepted model that consumers pay for Internet access and then content is free. Diller predicted there will be three revenue streams: advertising, subscriptions and transactions.
Disney, the world’s biggest media company, is developing a subscription-based product for the Internet, Iger said on July 22 at the conference.
The Burbank, California-based company has opportunities to increase sales from the Web, Iger said. Online advertising can be improved, and marketers can target consumers by tracking their activities and interests. Subscription products are particularly promising to the company.
‘Willing to Pay’
“We have ample evidence both in traditional and new media that people are willing to pay for quality, to pay for choice and to pay for convenience,” Iger said. “And they are willing to pay for what they perceive as value.”
Companies from Disney to New York Times Co. are seeking ways to get more revenue from the Internet and counter the loss of traditional media subscribers and advertisers.
New York Times said in a survey of print subscribers this month that it’s considering a $5 monthly fee for access to its namesake newspaper’s Web site. The company also asked whether existing print subscribers would be willing to pay a discounted fee of $2.50 a month for access to the site. Nytimes.com, the most visited among newspapers’ sites, is currently free.
Yesterday, the newspaper publisher reported second-quarter profit almost doubled as the company cut jobs and wages to cope with a deepening advertising slump. Revenue declined 21 percent.
News Corp.
News Corp., publisher of the Wall Street Journal and owner of the Fox TV and film studios, plans to increase revenue at its Internet businesses by charging customers for news and entertainment, Jonathan Miller, the company’s chief digital officer, said yesterday at the conference.
Going forward, some companies will have material people are willing to pay for, and others won’t, said Miller, chief executive officer of News Corp.’s Digital Media Group.
Journalism will increasingly become a “paid model” online, said Miller. The Wall Street Journal already charges for online subscriptions.
In the quarter ended March 31, News Corp.’s interactive revenue declined 11 percent to $187 million, led by a 16 percent decline in advertising at sites including MySpace.
IAC, based in New York, fell 12 cents to $17.91 at 4 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. It has gained 14 percent this year. News Corp. Class A rose 2 cents to $9.89.
New York Times rose 16 cents to $6.66, while Disney fell 22 cents to $26.58, both on the New York Stock Exchange.
To contact the reporters on this story: Brett Pulley in Los Angeles at bpulley@bloomberg.net; Andy Fixmer in Los Angeles at afixmer@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: July 24, 2009 17:32 EDT
By David Lawsky
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Facebook will likely be posting billions of dollars in revenue in five years, up from about $500 million this year, according to Silicon Valley entrepreneur Mark Andreessen who sits on Facebook's board.
Andreessen told Reuters that the world's most popular online social network could pile up $1 billion in revenue this year if it pushed harder on selling advertising.
But he added that it was more important at this stage for social sites like Facebook and Twitter to retain and grow their user base and capture market share, rather than worry too much about making lots of money right away.
"This calendar year they'll do over $500 million," Andreessen said in an interview, noting that Facebook has more than 225 million users, so revenue per user is still small.
"If they pushed the throttle forward on monetization they would be doing more than a billion this year," said Andreessen, who made the cover of Time Magazine as founder of the world's first Web browser company, Netscape.
Privately held Facebook -- which counts venture capitalist Peter Thiel, Accel Partners, Microsoft Corp and Russian Internet investment firm Digital Sky Technologies among its investors -- has never disclosed its revenue except to say it expects 70 percent growth this year.
"There's every reason to expect in my view that the thing can be doing billions in revenue five years from now," Andreessen said.
Andreessen, who is starting his own venture capital fund with Netscape executive Ben Horowitz, regrets not investing in Facebook. "I probably could have if I had tried hard but I didn't," he said, recalling that he has known the founders of Facebook from the beginning.
Andreessen has invested in Twitter, the fast-growing micro-blogging site that lets users share 140-character messages known as tweets.
Twitter famously makes no money, and Horowitz and Andreessen think that that is OK for now because the site needs to focus on increasing its number of users and improve the features it offers so that no rival can swoop in.
"They have to take the market," said Horowitz. "There is no investor in Twitter who will tell you: 'Boy, those guys are screwing up, there's no revenue yet.'"
Horowitz and Andreessen point to the once-leading social network MySpace, which has fallen behind since it was acquired by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.
MySpace focused too much on selling advertisements -- to contribute to News Corp's bottom line -- and not enough on developing the platform, leaving room for Facebook to come in and take market share, they said.
"If the revenue degraded the user experience then that was a very dangerous thing to do," Horowitz said.
Andreessen said it will be difficult, but not impossible, for MySpace to rebound now that Facebook has such a big following. Both he and Horowitz say they do not expect Twitter to make the same kinds of mistakes that MySpace did.
Twitter was a high profile Web start-up even before it shot into the headlines during the Iran election crisis, when the U.S. State Department called on it to reschedule planned maintenance because it considered Twitter a vital communications channel for protesters.
As for Facebook, Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg told Reuters in May that an initial public offering was not in the cards for at least a few years. Instead, the company is allowing some shareholders to sell their shares to Digital Sky.
"Generally speaking, people who are selling their stock in Facebook now are making a mistake," Andreessen said.
(Reporting by David Lawsky and Anupreeta Das; Editing by Tiffany Wu and Richard Chang)
By Robert MacMillan
NEW YORK, July 5 (Reuters) - The global recession, shrinking advertising sales and fears that the Internet could render big media empires obsolete provide an ominous backdrop for executives at this week's Sun Valley conference.
Herb Allen's boutique investment bank Allen & Co has organized this retreat in the affluent mountain resort town in south-central Idaho every summer for 27 years, inviting guests such as Rupert Murdoch, Sumner Redstone and Barry Diller.
But never before have the media elite been harder pressed to find ways to survive and grow, whether through acquisitions or alliances that they forge over hikes, horseback rides and after-dinner drinks at this historical meeting ground for media and technology deal makers.
"People in the traditional media world are terrified," said Ken Auletta, a New Yorker magazine media writer and author of several books about the media industry, who will chair a panel on new media at this week's conference.
"They're in the analog world, and the world is becoming digital," he said. "They're insecure about what's going to happen to their businesses."
This year's conference from July 7-12 will feature panel discussions, including likely themes from globalization to U.S. President Barack Obama's handling of the financial crisis.
But the real action will be deal action. Last year, Sun Valley was about Microsoft Corp's (MSFT.O) failed bid to buy Yahoo Inc (YHOO.O).
This year, the drama may lie with Time Warner Inc (TWX.N), Viacom Inc (VIAb.N) and CBS Corp (CBS.N) as their executives stroll with a passel of rich money managers like Time Warner investor Vivi Nevo and Yahoo shareholder Gordon Crawford.
Time Warner Chief Executive Jeffrey Bewkes plans to spin off AOL before the end of the year, and speculation is growing on whether he will also ditch the struggling Time Inc magazine unit -- the kinds of decisions that guests are known to make as they linger by the duck pond or knock back a beer.
Chatter also is surfacing over whether Bewkes is in a buying mood. Variety's Peter Bart last month named the DreamWorks Animation (DWA.O) movie studio as a target, and Viacom, which distributes DreamWorks movies through its Paramount division, as a rival suitor.
Paramount is already in talks to combine its DVD manufacturing and distribution operations with a rival studio such as News Corp's Fox or Sony Corp's (6758.T) Sony Pictures to cut costs, a source told Reuters last week. [ID:nN30237235]
PUTTING FAITH, AND STOCK, IN MEDIA
Bankers expect dealmaking in Hollywood to heat up this summer, as media companies look for new growth opportunities and ways to cut costs as they grapple with slowing DVD sales and tight corporate advertising budgets. [ID:nN29274840]
"I would not be surprised if there was a big CBS story. They're a traditional company that is in one of the most challenged sectors in traditional media today," said Mike Vorhaus, president of Magid Advisors, part of media consulting and research firm Frank N. Magid Associates.
Media watchers will make hay with whomever Murdoch lunches, particularly as the News Corp chief stakes his new-media credentials on rehabilitating MySpace, which has lost the title of world's biggest online social network to Facebook.
MySpace's new management team is expected to show up, although it is unclear if Mark Zuckerberg, the 25-year-old chief of Facebook, will. Twitter Chairman Evan Williams is on the guest list, as are Google (GOOG.O) CEO Eric Schmidt and Dell (DELL.O) Inc chief Michael Dell.
"Some Internet companies are feeling pretty good about themselves ... and have some currency they can use to buy some companies," Vorhaus said.
They will have to act soon. Media stocks like News Corp, Time Warner, Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) and Viacom, have rallied 50 percent to 80 percent since hitting big lows in March.
But just after Sun Valley comes quarterly earnings season, and analysts are expecting big profit drops for many media companies as advertising budgets keep shrinking.
U.S. ad spending likely will fall an average of 1.7 percent a year to $174 billion in 2013 from $189 billion in 2008, with revenue declines likely to hit TV ads, the music business and publishers, according to a study from PricewaterhouseCoopers.
At the same time, U.S. digital ad spending will be a quarter of total industry revenue by 2013, the report said.
Against that backdrop, content companies are likely to discuss partnerships with distributors such as Time Warner and Comcast Corp's (CMCSA.O) TV Everywhere online video project.
Those companies hope these projects will let them adapt to the Internet age without sacrificing the billions of dollars that their traditional businesses bring them.
"There's been a lot of deep cost-cutting at all of these companies. The question is going to be how do they repair their business model after the cuts," said Miller Tabak analyst David Joyce. (Reporting by Robert MacMillan; Additional reporting by Yinka Adegoke and Anupreeta Das in New York and Alexei Oreskovic in San Francisco; Editing by Maureen Bavdek)
I still think it's Mr. Devellano's preference to obtain a major buyout and move-on. His management style and relative silence seem support the above exit strategy over turning hypster.com into a paying service.
Whether there's millions left on the table or not--He hasn't necessarily conveyed a long-term commitment to the property.
I agree that there's potentially millions of dollars to be made converting hypster.com into a paying service--I just don't think we see it on Mr. Devellano's watch.
Recent site enhancements and associated user growth have given no indication of the site turning into paying service in short-term.
There is currently not much transparency but there are many transitional issues to deal with if co. is going to be morphing into a different type of service.
Would exponential user growth get snuffed out by perception that hypster.com would now be a 'paying' rather than 'free' site? Obviously hypster.com could offer 'tiered services' and a free-trial structure but perhaps compounding user growth is more of the interest at present.
Could Mr. Devellano be communicating with buyout entities who say they will have more interest with 2,000,000 + users than with current user count? Hence the efforts to increase new users above 80K per month--
As for advertising revenues--we don't know the metrics but obviously they know how much each new user is worth based on what advertisers are willing to pay. The fact that they are pushing to increase user growth says that more revenues are needed and expected.
In the event that current management opts to go paid subscription; IMO we could see changes by end of 2009 or early 2010 as we approach 2,000,000 users (March 2010)
The critical mass of users and advertising revenues could then provide greater cushion for co. to move into a paid subscription direction.
I agree with You that Mr. Devellano is not going to let millions slip through his fingers--however, I think it will come in form of obtaining a buyout rather than converting hypster.com into a paying service.
I expect a buyout entity to buy hypster.com for the purpose of mining existing user base into their paid subscription services.
If a buyout offer can't be obtained I would agree that the BUNM management team will be constrained to begin charging.
Profitability is now a must in the 'new normal' of this economy. Hope alone doesn't cut it anymore.
Nothing is a 'sure thing' in this economy. However, having an attractive user base and exponential growth curve are our best chance in this economy IMO
The potential revenues from the user base are currently untapped and I just don't assume that Mr. Devellano wants to move hypster.com into the direction of a paying service unless he absolutely has to.
Right now the revenue base is largely confined to ad revenues. Each new user should be increasing the above revenues.
I don't know if we will see Mr. Devellano convert hypster.com into a paying site during his watch. However, I believe this will be the main objective for any given buyout entity.
They will likely buy the user base in order to convert hypster.com into a paying service in rapid order. The buyout entity may already have a modest paying base in place and wish to dramatically increase their customer base and profitability.
Any advertising revenues will be 'sauce for the goose' rather than the main and only engine of profitability.
The strength of this service in the now is in the rate of user growth. As I stated in previous post 6-24-09 407,500 users have been added thus far in 2009.
I believe Mr. Devellano is betting on the rate of this growth attracting a buyout offer. Recent site enhancements have been intended to increase rate of user growth rather than develop other affiliated sites, services etc.
If this offer cannot be obtained--then it is possible we do see hypster.com morph into a paying service. IME starting end of 2009 or for 2010.
Based on current projections--another 450-500K will be added before end of 09.
The above assumes no new major initiatives to obtain greater user growth during the rest of 2009.
Hypster.com total user count by end of 2009 should be right around 1.7 million mark.
Facebook, Twitter and peers for sale - privately
* By RACHEL METZ, AP Technology Writer - Sun Jun 28, 2009 1:45AM EDT
* Facebook, Twitter and peers for sale - privately (AP)
NEW YORK -
Scott Painter makes his living betting on startup companies, having played a role in launching 29 of them over the years. But with the bad economy choking initial public offerings and acquisitions, Painter is now backing an idea that makes it easier for insiders like him to sell shares in their companies even before they go public.
SharesPost, which was founded by Painter's business partner, Greg Brogger, launched publicly in June. Through SharesPost's Web site, Painter is trying to sell shares in several companies he helped found, including car pricing startup TrueCar.com. He also wants to buy shares in companies that are far from an IPO, like short-messaging site Twitter and business-networking site LinkedIn.
SharesPost is one of a few private stock exchanges that are emerging to fight what venture capitalists call a liquidity crisis. These exchanges give stakeholders an alternative way to trade their shares in hot startups like Facebook for cold, hard cash — without having to wait years for an IPO.
Employees at startup employees often put in long hours but get salaries that can be 20 percent less than their peers at public companies. In return, they get stock or options that they hope will be a path to sports cars and summer homes after their company goes public or is bought out.
Given this, services like SharesPost could help startup workers get some cash while awaiting a distant IPO that might never even get off the ground. Most people won't be in on the action, though, since these exchanges are only open to a small pool of buyers.
And it's not clear how much — or how little — stock has changed hands through them. In its short life, Santa Monica, Calif.-based SharesPost said it has executed one $25,000 transaction, while another service, New York-based SecondMarket, said it has completed about 40 transactions in the past year worth about $150 million.
Still, if they manage to thrive, these exchanges could help the economy. By selling shares on a private exchange, an investor can free up funds to put into other startups. And institutional investors could use these services to broaden their holdings to include fast-growing companies that have yet to go public.
The methods of these private exchanges vary. SharesPost uses an online bulletin board to introduce buyers and sellers. SecondMarket links the parties and lets companies set up their own mini-markets that they control, while Redwood City, Calif.-based XChange is rolling out an online system that will allow buyers and sellers to connect and directly trade shares for cash.
All are open just to institutional investors — organizations like venture capital firms or pension funds that manage at least $100 million in assets — and individual accredited investors. That category includes people with a net worth of at least $1 million, or salary of at least $200,000 for the last two years.
The concept is not entirely new. Nyppex, formed in 1998, facilitates private-company stock trades, and a few companies with similar offerings emerged during the last economic downturn but failed to gather much steam. Among the problems: Determining a fair price for a private company's stock is tough without much public information.
This time, however, employees and investors are more aggressively looking for a way to get a return on their dedication and funding. More than a dozen companies have priced IPOs in the U.S. this year, down from 35 in the first half of 2008, according to research firm Renaissance Capital. In the same period of dot-com-crazy 2000, there were 219 IPOs in the U.S.
Besides the economy, startup investors say the high costs and regulatory requirements associated with going public have also stymied many smaller, younger companies. According to the National Venture Capital Association, the median span from a company's founding to its IPO was 9.6 years in 2008. In 1998 it was 4.5 years.
One factor is compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley anti-fraud law, which was enacted in 2002 after accounting scandals at companies like Enron Corp. and WorldCom Inc. A key part of this law requires public companies to file reports on the strength of internal financial controls and fix any problems — steps that can be costly for a startup.
Issues like this have "just made it more and more difficult for companies to make it to that next step," said Thomas Foley, chief executive of XChange, which he developed with venture capitalist Tim Draper.
SharesPost founder Greg Brogger believes his site has one solution to the slowdown in IPOs: Bulletin boards for more than 100 startups that allow buyers and sellers to post the price and number of shares they want to purchase or unload, and the ability to e-mail one another directly.
Parties wishing to make a deal can find the relevant contracts on the site to sign, and an escrow company completes the transaction, charging both sides $2,500. So far, a $25,000 deal — the site's minimum transaction size — has been completed for 2,500 shares of electric car startup Tesla Motors at $10 apiece.
That reflects a great deal of optimism for a company that has only sold roughly 500 cars and had to get additional funding from the U.S. Energy Department. A report from one of SharesPost's research providers, NeXt Up Research, valued Tesla at $1 billion, or $9 per share. The car company had no comment.
Anyone can sign up for free to see startups listed on SharesPost. Only qualified investors can buy shares, and SharesPost makes money by charging buyers and sellers $34 a month.
XChange, meanwhile, enables buyers and sellers to share confidential information necessary for making informed purchases, and it has a platform for users to trade shares. When it is fully launched later this year, XChange will be an automated online exchange, much like E-Trade, where users can instantly trade shares for cash.
But while these services may be able to speed up dealmaking, users must still grapple with another key issue: how to determine a fair price for stock in a company that isn't required to regularly disclose its financial information and doesn't have that many potential buyers or sellers.
At SharesPost, Brogger wants to solve the problem by offering as much information as possible about companies it lists, from analysts at Next Up Research and VC Experts. SecondMarket CEO and founder Barry Silbert said companies can decide to share some details with investors and potential bidders on his site.
SharesPost doesn't believe the research on its site will cause any problems should the company file for an IPO with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as these types of analyses are published by investment banks during the IPO process.
Still, the lack of public disclosure and limited number of traders on these services makes Kathy Smith bristle. A market with limited transparency, participation and disclosures "is not a solution to the markets we have now," said Smith, a principal at Greenwich, Conn.-based Renaissance Capital.
And trading is not always as simple as posting a sales opportunity and an asking price. Startups often restrict what their employees can do with their shares and stock options — commonly imposing the "right of first refusal." That generally means employees who find buyers for their shares have to let the company decide if it wants to buy the stock back instead, for the same price. Companies can use this stipulation to keep competitors from snagging a stake.
Even if these services help startup employees and investors, they're not likely to eliminate the need to someday go public.
For one thing, this kind of market can only get so big. Private companies with more than $10 million in assets are required to file annual reports with the SEC if they have more than 500 shareholders of record. This rule prodded Google Inc. into filing for its IPO in 2004, and it could happen to others as these exchanges distribute shares among more shareholders.
Several of the private exchanges say it's up to companies to keep track of their total shareholder count. Foley said XChange helps companies keep tabs by revealing who their shareholders are at any given time.
Another reason IPOs won't vanish: Companies usually go public first to raise cash for their operations, and then to set a price that will eventually let insiders turn their holdings into cash. While some of the private exchanges do let startups themselves — and not just their employees and investors — sell stock, it's not likely to be lucrative without a large base of potential buyers.
Still, some buyers, sellers and startups may see trading through these services as the way to go until the IPO market improves.
"At the very least, it's going to be spring training for companies before they go public," SecondMarket's Silbert said.
___
Rachel Metz can be reached at rmetz(at)ap.org.
407,500 additional users added (so far) in 2009
Well-written Ken_rn69.
The 'Sky is Always Falling' opinions seem both extreme and unfounded (As well as the 'shot-gun' evaluations of Mr. Devellano). I share your 'worry-free' approach to investing and don't lose sleep over this investment either.
A real long-shot IMHO however a player like Google could take hypster.com to the stratosphere. Tens of millions more users for 2009 and hundreds of millions of user count in the years beyond.
What's lacking right now IME for entities like Google, Facebook and MySpace are enough 'thinking outside the box' approaches to generating real revenue in these times.
The advertising models are blown-away due to the depth of the recession and these cos. have offered essentially 'free use' so-long they forget that consumers will often pay $$$$ for value-added features aka 5-30.00 per month for unlimited music downloads/chat features/concert ticket discounts/'free' hypster T-shirts etc.
This economy we're all experiencing now has been referred to the 'new normal' meaning that consumer trends and expectations have likely permanently changed.
Advertising dollars have dried up in some cases and trends have definitely changed overall in respect to monies once spent in newspaper advertisements are now online. In some respects, advertisers are frantic to reach their audience and secure profitability.
I don't know if a Google will take enough interest in an entity like hypster because large corporations aren't always known for being visionary. However, they do seem open to not merely wanting to reinvent the wheel but find entities that are already up and running.
An entity like Google could turn hypster.com into a huge national and international 'name' virtually overnight. Music is not going away and music obtained/shared/purchased online is the present and future.
IME The key for Google in buying an entity like hypster.com is immediately implementing a plan that insures streams of income beyond advertising models. Every new user = $5.00 - $50.00 yearly rather than the big 0 return that is not going to enthuse their shareholders or management.
PICK US!!
Google CEO says looking to buy smaller firms
Tue Jun 9, 2009 3:44pm EDT
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google is looking to buy smaller technology companies to enhance its technology portfolio, Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said in an interview with the Fox Business network on Tuesday.
Schmidt said Google plans to focus on the cloud, mobile, and open source distribution of software in the next year.
"We have been (looking to acquire)," Schmidt said. "We have been wandering around looking at all of the different companies. With the big ones we haven't come across anything we've particularly liked. We are definitely talking to a number of smaller companies but we've done that routinely."
"We primarily look for technology. It's a typical build versus buy. How long does it take us to build it with our engineers, versus there are already engineers in this other company that have built this thing."
The chief executive's statements come as the Internet search giant's growth slows from double digit percentages amid global economic turmoil and a sharp, industry-wide decline in advertising.
(Reporting by Clare Baldwin; Editing Bernard Orr)
© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved
These are tough economic times and it does seem Mike is trying to be fiscally responsible. However, this does not preclude a need to be more-bold. This boldness must not be confused with over-leveraging the co. to the point that this entity becomes insolvent.
IMO & IME the potential future buyout of hypster.com will come out of differentiating itself from other services. It will come by extremely effective branding and as a noted multi- billionaire Sheldon Adelson has said the key to success is 'by doing things differently than all others.'
Hypster.com needs real-world exposure. We need to see users/shareholders wearing hypster.com T shirts to school and public events. I would like to see Mr. Devellano enlist the help of a pseudo public figure promote the brand. One 'twitter' from Ashton Kutcher about hypster.com could reach 2 million people.
Hire a Joan Rivers type of individual to promote the brand. Do something completely different, amusing or downright weird to promote the brand/stock. Major news services may show interest and make mention of hypster.com In its heyday look what William Shatner did for the exposure of priceline.com
If you want a lucrative buyout Mike you need to greatly increase the exposure. There is free publicity if you are motivated to attain it. Paid-for publicity is the obvious.
Nothing is stopping you from coming up with fairly-regular PRs about the progress and aspirations of hypster.com You now have over 1.1 million database to mine and that should not be taken for granted. It should be exploited and a call to action should be initiated.
Getting $ 10.00 yearly out of 1.1 million users is better than a 'free-service' of 20 million users that draws nothing more than some banner ad revenue. The future buyout premium is going to be more-based on actual existing revenues than speculative views of the past.
If we offer a buyout entity existing and growing revenue streams, advertising revenue, branding rights revenue hypster.com T shirts etc. the chances should exponentially increase that we are more attractive and valuable than other services.
IME The less overhead the greater chance of hypster.com weathering the storm--while still gathering a greater numbers of users. Our PPS situation is truly tied in with the greater economy. Potential investors worried about their jobs, mortgages etc. are not focused on plays like BUNM.
Right now there is a great shift of advertising dollars moving from old media to new media outlets like hypster.com but it's also important to remember that overall amount of advertising dollars is lower overall due to recessionary conditions.
It's important to note that we are in the midst of a 'sea-change' in respect to advertising trends and many Web models are struggling for their identity and profitability including some of the biggest names. That's why it's imperative that management becomes more-bold in differentiating itself from the competition.
I'll get back to you on your thought-provoking questions JPGetty
Great food for thought!
I think Mike is vested in this for himself...and I personally believe this to be a very good thing. Not a bad thing IMO
Why? because Mike is personally invested in the success of this entity rather than telling shareholders what we want to hear and spending his time formulating fluff PRs.
If Mike gets a beautiful payday--we shareholders are much more likely to enjoy the same. Obviously if the market can't pay or is unwilling to pay what Mike wants we're stuck in first or 2nd gear. Mike or anyone else in this economy can only do what the economy is going to bear.
I believe Mike is trying to obtain a huge payoff and that what he has done thus far is to move toward the above. The business model seems fiscally responsible and is rather incremental which in these economic times is IMO essential. Promising ventures often fail because of lack of capital or their business model simply doesn't work or is way to loose and ambitious for the times.
No one can deny that as of today May 7th 2009 that 1.1 users hypster.com is just around the corner. This is not the case of a CEO or company with a pie-in-the-sky idea or a hopeful dream. The hypster.com model in particular works very well and is growing very nicely. Judge BUNM for what it is rather than for what it is not or has not yet become. What business stage are we now in? infancy, young age, middle age, maturity, dying?
IME we have a long life and bright future ahead.
This company has accomplished a tangible real-life feat in a very promising, relatively new industry. New leaders are and will emerge out of this current recession and I'm not betting against BUNM and related properties. In fact my position as a shareholder is a statement otherwise.
I speak as a shareholder not as a CEO and there is a difference but I'm gratified that this CEO has delivered results. The PPS is a totally separate issue.
People are sitting on PPS sidelines today but would they be tomorrow if an 80 million dollar offer was obtained with associated PR? Everyone will then be preaching the accolades of BUNM and scrambling for a position. Those who have obtained a position previously will have numerous positive options others don't.
The PPS is often more of a popularity poll than an actual indicator of real value. If nothing else PPS = opinion of market about what we think it's worth.
Investors 'vote' by buying, selling or standing on sidelines and some complain about virtually everything. Sometimes even about not buying soon enough when great news is imminent lol
A number of individuals like Rupert Murdoch and others believe that the economy has now hit rock-bottom.
If you agree with the assessment--the only way up now is up and if the overall economy strengthens it's going to aid our cause here with BUNM. We should see a greater number of buyouts, mergers/acquisitions etc. if the economy can stop retracting and start growing again.
As confidence renews, buying enthusiasm for a play like ours will increase. BUNM is no longer a co. with a dream. Hypster.com has achieved 1,000,000 + user base and further milestones are ahead. Our user base continues to grow and the existing base of users is a potential treasure trove to mine for additional streams of income.
hypster.com has grown exponentially while other sectors like newspapers have seen exponential decreases in circulation. New media is rapidly eclipsing old media forms.
Music is as popular as ever and the digital age of music is the present and future. With a growing audience of coveted demographics (think young)we are bound to attract more-attention as time goes on. Ad dollars are flowing to the Web rather than old media forms and we will continue to benefit.
I remain very, very optimistic here that it is only a matter of time before we all see some dynamic changes and additional opportunities.
User count by end of 2009 will exceed 1.6 million on the (low end) and depending on unknown enhancements could exceed 2,000,000. User count continues to grow in an exponential manner.
A CEO definitely has the ability to influence the PPS but do they actually control PPS?
CEO can't compel anyone to buy or sell this stock.
Is BUNM selling stock for its survival or is the co. developing other streams of income to make a profit?
If you believe this co. is more than a PPS (like the CEO) then you aren't going to be concerned with stock price rather you will concern yourself with sustainability and profitability of the co. especially in moving a stated goal in form of buyout.
Many shareholders and their associated assumptions both (right) and (wrong) actually move the PPS within framework of market conditions.
Could several hundred million of buying volume move this PPS tomorrow? Absolutely--!
So do you believe that each and every user = 0 value? Obviously advertisers now affiliated with hypster.com would have to disagree.
PPS is determined by market/shareholders not CEO
If I were not familiar with this board--reading the posts over the last few days I would conclude that BUNM is like 99.9% of pennies and is nothing more than a trading symbol selling cardboard boxes out of a garage.
How can we get people to buy shares here when many 'holders' are drumming about the glass seemingly always being empty? Is anything right with this stock--and if so why aren't we spending energies telling potential investors the merits rather than the perceived flaws?
Yes this PPS is at the bottom still--and no wonder. Pessimism is never going to move this PPS. Realism, optimism and speculation and yes greed/fear will move this.
We need shareholders with faith, vision and yes patience. Whether the CEO responds to each and every email is both immaterial and also not realistic. Do we want him building the brand or do we want him to manipulate the stock price or concern himself with daily market conditions? If he loses focus and co. becomes insolvent short of buyout we all lose.
All I personally want the CEO to do is keep building hypster.com as the flagship here for the purpose of getting us the highest and best BUYOUT offer possible. In order to obtain the latter it is important that some cards are simply not shown at this point. Hypster.com may be generating far more or less $$$$$$$ than we suppose but this is speaking to the present rather than the future of the property. We want a buyout suitor to pay as much speculation premium as possible.
The reality is that the CEO has been able to get us a Web audience numbering over 1,000,000 and this opens up doors to further expansion and enhancements. CEO appears to be moving forward judiciously in a minefield of current economic conditions. Some comments here seem to lack an understanding about how the overall economy now factors in with respect to PPS, buyout offers etc.
Hypster.com is intended as quality over quantity experience for those who enjoy listening to and sharing music. The basic underpinnings of a community/network has been attained and many streams of income are possible now that were not available 2-4 years ago. Positive cash-flow is imperative for new ventures so it's important that intelligent rather than reckless growth occurs. Many promising ventures in their veritable business youth fail because of lack of resources/and or too rapid expansion with the associated overhead problems. What hypster must continue to do is remain solvent.
For the record I have never spoken with management or had any direct communication with them. All the above are my opinions based on analysis, experience and 'my gut.'
I am far less suspicious of this management team because largely they have produced actual results, don't issue bi-weekly 'fluff PRs' and it has been my actual experience with CEOs who constantly 'sell their stock/story for a living that they end up lying all the way to the time of R/S.
Yes good points. I might add that losing half of the world's wealth in the last year does tend to change things! The key for hypster.com is survival through this serious downturn and the CEO (like everyone else) has to wait for appropriate/commensurate buyout offer.
There likely will be no PR for this 1,000,000. Everyone who follows this closely saw it coming. If the co. wanted to make a bigger issue of this they could remove user/page count at hypster.com and turn each milestone into a surprise.
I personally don't care to hear from the company until tangible guidance comes. I also agree with other posters that the co. should get serious about adding a income-based model and I don't agree that this wouldn't be effective.
How many of the 1,000,000 + users who are currently getting 'free services' would actually pay 12.00 to up to 100.00 annually annually for a 'hypstervip.com type of enhanced service? Concert ticket deals/backstage passes etc.
10,000 members X $ 100.00 = 1,000,000
Current economic trends point to the validity of the above in making a given entity more-attractive for buyout consideration. Several years ago, this wasn't the case. Speculation premium was more of the rage versus demonstrated and actual revenue streams.
1,000,000 + users sure beats 0 !!!!!!!
Congrats!!!
I shouldn't have copied Ken lol
Speaking of 'Golden'...nearly 67,000 additional hypster users were added this month March 2009!!!
Last year on this date (April 1, 2008) 300,000 users attained. We will soon attain 1,000,000 users!!!!
Anyone who can't see the value of this property/stock frankly doesn't deserve to have a position. Buy BUNM while it's still low.
Please feel free to cut and paste the above or your own material and post it on stock forums throughout the Web
'BUNM Approaching 1,000,000 users for it's hypster.com premier Web property'
'1,000,000 attainment means buyout is more-likely' etc.
I think the Philipines is a great area for us to concentrate on: since we already have a nice user base there.
Either of your two guidance events could turn .0001-.0002 into the ash heap of history. IME a buyout from a big-name player aka Best Buy type could move this into pennies within space of days. If enough buying volume comes in on massive news things can really fly. Any news could move this .0002-.0020 quite easily.
I suggest with your being relatively new to trading that you determine now your out-points based on low-end, mid and high-end projections.
If a huge name aka Microsoft or Google were to procure hypster.com .05-.10 might not be off the table***** I'm not predicting this unlikely event just saying that such a tsunami news event would be one perhaps for the ages. As I've stated in other posts; bigger names getting involved draws bigger exposure than we've yet experienced. It also draws many different types of traders aka. momentum traders, flippers etc.
Relatively nothing appears to be happening on the surface but there is a management team working everyday to achieve success. CEO stated in the past that 1,000,000 appeared to be significant attainment that might translate to possible buyout opportunities. Obviously what was said a year ago doesn't factor in current conditions 'on the ground.'
It would be great to see a buyout right when 1,000,000 hits but the reality is that the hypster.com offers a very valuable database to mine for other streams of income. Our wheel doesn't need to be reinvented.
There are companies in Silicon Valley right now that are light years behind BUNM and trying to get their Web-concepts moving with seed monies of 20-30K. I'm not saying these are all digital music industry players but rather highlighting that there are many concepts that boast 0-1000 users and yet no real consistent revenue streams for long-term sustainability if not survival.
You've got to reflect and appreciate how far you've come to understand where we could be heading.
As I said in my last email if the co. wanted to induce or even manipulate this PPS they could do it easily. All it would take is some PR about major news coming after 1,000,000 milestone and the investment community would be all over this.
The co. and CEO doesn't seem to be in the business of releasing guidance through unofficial channels and also if it is not warranted. Everyone who follows this knows that 1,000,000 is coming and IME people should invest accordingly.
One of the hardest things to do in trading IMO is to sell a position when greed is in full force. It is not easy when these penny stocks run from .0002 to .0050 within days and it looks like .01 is right around the corner.
A few years ago, I was in a penny that I bought at .0004 and eventually it ran to .0028 (within space of days) and I didn't sell because it appeared that it was going to keep climbing. I wasn't mentally prepared to sell or even get back my principal because I truly was shocked about the huge percentage move and yeah greed factored in as well. I started listening to 'more-seasoned' investors who were talking .01-.02 etc. and who probably had already taken their principal off the table or who probably had just sold their entire position.
If you are conservative investor or if you want to consider a particular strategy--ride 'free-shares' by getting back your principal at a set point and keep the rest for hopefully an awesome ride up. It could allow more fun over stress for the duration of the ride. I have a sheet already formulated showing different price-outs in order to secure my principal and reach my other objectives with this investment.
Didn't mean to write so much but I hope it is some food for thought.
You're never wrong--so it seemed like a safe choice lol
4-9-09
11:52PM
Pass the Salt
If the co. wanted the PPS to move they could easily make it happen. I've been bemused the last couple days looking at some other pennies where hardly more than a 'fluff in the wind' PR has propelled volume into the 100s of millions.
I actually applaud management for building a flagship in hypster.com that is a legitimate product/service that the online community is using. Their model appears to be aware of the dangers of too much overhead and too rapid of expansion. It leaves open many doors for future revenue opportunities. This co. has laid out a plan and is largely executing it based on current economic conditions.
No, they don't seem overly concerned with the share price but I believe that this shouldn't be their main priority. CEO has stated this in the past as well. I personally have been burned in penny-land with cos. where CEO spends most of their time talking to rank and file shareholders about all kinds of minor details. The focus becomes on everything but co. surviving the long-term.
The market determines the PPS and many times frankly we get it wrong. Extremes take place either extremely undervalued or extremely overvalued. It's very easy to see which end of the scale we're on at this juncture.
The chance of buyout should increase when we hit 1,000,000 but the co. is beholden to what the market is willing to pay for such a property. The price and overall deal must be right. Moreover, the current economic climate has been far-different than in years past and everyone is being more-cautious. A 80 million deal in this economy may be the equivalent of a 160 million dollar deal 2 years ago.
Don't get me wrong: 1,000,000 is a very exciting and significant milestone!!!!! I personally remain very optimistic about this co. and prospects for big things yet to come. Every new user = more $$$ and we continue to draw more users every single minute of every single day. We are not limited by national or international boundaries and we are in business 24/7.
IMO There are numerous things to be excited about here--whether the co. speaks or not.
Let's hope it's a market-maker signal that we're soon to go up 5000% and soon
lol
Excerpt from Pass the Salt's recent IBOX addition:
Last year on April 1st 2008 hypster.com attained 300,000 users,
1,000,000 will be ATTAINED early April 2009.
333% (+) Growth Rate in ONE YEAR!!!!!!
300,000 X 333% = 999,000
Advertisers and associated revenues can't help but notice the above growth percentage. Hypster.com audience is exponentially growing!!