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I called Michael Polyviou at EVC; he is listed at the end of the recent press releases. Their relationship with Titan has not changed. They do work for Titan, but what they do is at Titan's request. Titan calls when they want to issue a press release and EVC helps handle it. If Titan doesn't call, EVC has nothing to do for them.
If we wanted EVC to facilitate a periodic conference call, we would need to convince Titan management to contact EVC to get it going.
He cautioned about too many press releases watering down their value; he said they had a client who liked to issue daily press releases without having any valid news, and one of the PRs said basically that they apologized for having no news today but expected to have some for tomorrow. I hope he doesn't think we want that level of minutia.
If we truly believe more information will help elevate stock price and help keep the project rolling, we can be sure that letter #3 requests this assertively.
I agree Plan A should probably be CE Mark, but ideally with a design which will also meet all FDA criteria as well. I'd hate to see us get CE Marking and then need more design work before FDA.
We might want to consider our own representatives having varied backgrounds. Let's get someone more focused on the investment side, someone with management and finance background, and someone with a surgical background. My background is medical devices and QA, currently focused on the software validation side, so not as applicable for these calls, and I couldn't realistically break away during my work day to be on the call.
I'm not entirely what each of you do for a living but maybe this also serves as an opportunity to get to know our teammates a little better!
Part of my concern with the initial idea is that too many people on the call could easily get out of hand. I think the idea of limiting it to 3 or so from the investors group would be ideal, It would maintain professionalism and not overwhelm the other participants, but it would still give us all at least three different perspectives on what took place. Transcript should be made available to all, but sometimes the tone of an answer (or pauses and delays) can be more telling than the words themselves.
EVC to moderate and host sounds like... their job!
I also agree that six weeks is an ideal interval. Monthly could be construed as burdensome, and quarterly might be too infrequent to maximize productivity. Immediate publication of the end call should squelch any insider trading opportunities or accusations.
And whomever participates from our group should remember to lead with a positive, build into the harder questions, but save some positive notes for the end and be very thankful to them upon closing. If the company agrees to do this, it certainly is not an obligation on their part so we need them also to feel good about the end result!
I agree with all of this. Not sure what Sachin is currently doing, what his job responsibilities actually entail, or if EVC is providing any actual value, or reasonable services being performed. I also think it will take a more interactive dialog with management to make substantial progress on these fronts. These questions were asked in our letter but a public announcement might not be the ideal way for them to answer, especially regarding EVC.
The idea of a conference call amongst ourselves sounds like a great beginning, but it doesn't provide actual dialog with the company. Restricting their communicative output to press releases also limits the amount of detail they could provide toward answering any of our questions.
The annual shareholders meeting is a great forum for this sort of dialog, but annual certainly doesn't cut it, and the majority of us can't attend in person due to jobs and family responsibilities.
I'm not sure how to facilitate a conference call, and I don't even know if my work schedule would allow me to participate, but if we could organize a periodic con call within our group it might be beneficial(as long as we maintain a team mentality and don't jump down each others' throats, as happens so frequently on this board). we should be organized and unified in our requests, and professional in our presentation. But the interaction with management and BOD is probably what is most needed.
What does everyone think about trying to coerce management to participate in a periodic conference call? Maybe monthly, maybe only quarterly. We can discuss topics here in advance, and they would certainly be free to monitor things here so they know what to expect and what to prepare for. A conference call or WebEx which includes them should accomplish a huge amount. We would need to understand that there are some questions they can't answer for various reasons. We could send them a list of questions in advance so they can properly prepare.Also, if we could get this started, everyone involved would need to be patient and courteous through the entire call, or there would never be another.
If they can answer a reasonable number of our questions and engage in a dialog about the direction of the product and the company, it would be so much easier to draw in more investment dollars and get a competent product to the finish line.
Thoughts?
Mgt change, design freeze, and Longtai money are all really big things which would certainly move the stock quickly, for a couple days after each announcement. But a number of smaller victories could be equally valuable; persistence would be the key there. The smaller goals are much easier to achieve. Look ahead at conferences they might be able to get into for demos. Get more press releases out there, even touting little things... A weekly promo maintains upward momentum, and then the big news events get an even bigger pop.
An example: AORN is in Boston in April. Make arrangements now and announce it. In December, announce that a SPORT system will be there for live demos and discussions. January, release a PR about a new analysis on how much it can save an OR over the life of the instrument. Maybe add an analysis which shows savings due to reduced setup time vs. a multi-armed robot, quicker turn-around for processing re-usable parts - tell us all how OR support staff benefit from a time management standpoint and get ready to talk at length about those points in April. Have adequate staffing there to ensure all interested parties get a chance to talk to someone. Two weeks before AORN, another PR as a reminder. A week or two after AORN, another PR about how well it went, some of the wonderful feedback they got from OR staff and administrators.
One event, a monthly PR, all positive, and each one gets more attention from a few more people for our little company and our PPS goes up. IMO, of course; I can't foretell the future but we as a group can continue to influence it. I think their marketing team needs something more to do. Let's give them some ideas and see if we can prod them into action somehow.
It sounds like modularity wasn't a big design consideration. With a modular design, you can replace or upgrade components and use the rest of the hardware for the additional testing. If each new system renders that prior design obsolete, there is more than a bit of waste. And extra cost. Let's hope the retired hardware serves some purpose along the way, at least for marketing purposes. They could conceivably show off the second or third newest system at trade shows with most of the latest functionality, and with very little risk to the ongoing development program.
I feel good about the result! But please bear in mind the letters were indeed a collaborative effort. I took notes on what was being discussed here by all of you and chose points which seemed to be the most common and most egregious, and toned down the language. It was all your thoughts, but worded in a way I thought had a better chance of being taken seriously. I'm just glad I got to contribute in some way, because the investment world certainly isn't my forte.
I sent out to all on distribution. I got three rejected due apparently to incorrect address. Try the following:
jim.shore14@gmail.com
cseibert@titanmedicalinc.cmo
If anyone knows Sachin Sankholkar's address, please let us know.
Are we ready? Distribution list is at the end, but some addresses remain unconfirmed/best guess. Please send updates to addresses if/when you find them. Meanwhile, I think it's ready to go out.
Subject (for email subject line):
Titan Medical Shareholder Letter 2
To Titan Medical Inc. Board of Directors and Management:
This letter is the second such document from our group of concerned shareholders who regularly communicate with each other via the InvestorsHub Titan Medical message board. We intend to continue to send these letters occasionally, and we hope they are received in the spirit in which they are sent, which is to encourage continued open bidirectional communications, and to express our concerns as well as our support and appreciation when we feel it is appropriate.
Toward the latter, we would like to acknowledge certain recent activities by the company. Shortly after our first letter was sent, Titan sent out a press release which appeared to address some of our stated concerns at that time, one of which was the scarcity of communications, and another pertained to the search to fill certain positions. We acknowledge that this press release may have been previously planned and its content largely coincidental with our request, or it may have been a direct response to our request. The latest press release this morning is great news to us on two fronts. Certainly, we are excited to see Ximedica resuming their efforts on a focused path, but we also appreciate seeing this update with the indication that more information will be made available as things progress. Regardless of the reasons, we would like to thank Titan for the information and we hope it proves to be the beginning of a trend toward more regular communications. These memos can serve not only to address and allay some of our concerns, but they can also serve to keep Titan Medical visible to potential additional investors, and show the public a heightened level of corporate responsibility and responsiveness.
Another company activity which we surely need to address is the recent departure of John Hargrove. There are several of us in the group who would like to thank him for his earlier contributions. Many also felt that his most positive influences were confined to his earlier tenure with the company and that, evinced by the current development delays and funding crisis, his departure was overdue. Admittedly, it is much easier for us to place blame, even if misdirected, when we were unable to receive enough information to accurately assess the situation. In part due to this lack of information to the contrary, as a key figure within the organization he has shouldered the blame in many shareholders’ minds. We do appreciate that he recognized the opportunity to step aside and we wish him well in his future endeavors.
With the new temporary governance in place and the ongoing search for permanent leadership, we feel this would be an opportune time for better definition of the vacancies and the currently filled roles alike. As shareholders, we are very interested in the organizational structure and how each of these positions contributes to the company’s goals. With proper descriptions of the responsibilities of each position, it would be much easier for the organization to ensure internal goals are met and proper accountability, both within the organization and to shareholders, can occur. Our first letter expressed desire for some performance metrics for certain key roles, and we would like to reiterate that request, which is particularly timely in light of the open positions and current recruitment efforts. Most of the professional working world lives and dies by their performance evaluations, and Titan Medical should not be too different. We certainly are not asking for public disclosure of personnel records, but if the web site listed responsibilities instead of a resume synopsis for each person, we would be able to gauge for ourselves how well some people are contributing, and acknowledge their accomplishments. As an example, when certain team members achieve a professional victory for the organization such as successfully closing on investment capital or arranging a demonstration at a large conference, we feel these victories should be publicized and those responsible should be given the appropriate credit for their hard work.
With these job responsibilities, we would like to see more detail on the specific duties for President, CEO, CFO, and COO. Given the criticality of these roles and the recent history of the company, disclosure of these job descriptions would serve the company well to ease concerns of current and future shareholders, as we could then see that someone is actually assigned oversight of necessary tasks. Additionally, these detailed job descriptions should already exist within an organization that is currently seeking to fill some of them, so we feel that there is no reason that the information should not be shared more openly.
As for the brief prior mention of investment capital, we have questions pertaining to that topic and others as well. With a diverse group of shareholders, we have a diverse set of backgrounds which lead to questions on numerous topics. We ask that you please consider the following subset of questions we have posted on the InvestorsHub message board:
What is the status of the Longtai deal? Do we owe them the two million dollar deposit, or are negotiations proceeding? Was the deposit set aside in case it needs to be returned, or would repayment come from the proceeds of the last offering?
What roles does EVC currently fill and what actions are they taking to fulfill their contractual obligations? Specifically, several members of our group reported having contacted EVC directly for information but they claim they have not received any meaningful responses to their questions. However, if EVC is involved in the recent increase in communications, we would like to know so we can then acknowledge their contributions.
Can Titan indicate what their current financial needs are to continue the development effort without further interruption to reach program completion? Is Plexus also currently engaged with the program or do they require further payments beforehand? What are the current plans to fund the program?
What is the revised timeline and what are the major dependencies to stay on schedule?
Has Titan applied for and been accepted for the FDA Early Feasibility program and if so, is a schedule set for this activity? Has the company considered deferring FDA approval and targeting a CE Mark first to initiate sales and associated revenue before pursuing the US market?
Why is SPORT not featured on the Titan Medical home page? Why have videos of procedures been removed from the web site?
Are all employees in full time positions with Titan?
Is Titan Medical fully committed to a future in the marketplace as a fully independent publicly traded company, or is the prevailing strategy to seek a buyout or other M&A activity? Are Reverse Splits and/or uplisting being considered, and if so, what are the trade-offs?
We honestly cannot expect detailed answers to all these questions in a public forum, but this represents a sample of the most frequent topics of discussion among our group, and we feel they best represent our most pressing concerns at this time.
To reiterate, we are truly appreciative and supportive of the recent changes which have begun. We encourage regular communications with the public and shareholders, to include press releases and web site postings, and we applaud the recent efforts toward that end. We suggest the web site be updated with current images, videos, timelines, personnel, and job descriptions. We strongly encourage Titan Medical to demand EVC fulfill their contractual obligations in some measurable and reportable way. We truly believe in the technology, and that is the core reason that most of us remain invested with and interested in the company despite the recent occurrences. As professionals, many of us in medical fields, we would love to see the positive affect this device could have on patient outcomes and on hospital budgets. As investors, our hopes are even more obvious.
We plan to continue to provide these open communications to inform you of investor concerns sentiment. We hope you will reciprocate, whether in response to our letters or merely because you agree with the benefit of more open communications.
Sincerely,
Name:
City/State:
Shares held as of October 13, 2016:
Distribution:
mbernholtz@kerbel.ca
john.barker@titanmedicalinc.com
reiza.rayman@titanmedicalinc.com
Stephen.randall@titanmedicalinc.com
Paige.hargrove@titanmedicalinc.com
Chris.seibert@titanmedicalinc.com
Susan@titanmedicalinc.com
Frederic.nahon@titanmedicalinc.com
Sachin.sankholkar@titanmedicalinc.com
Jasminder.brar@titanmedicalinc.com
James.shore@titanmedicalinc.com
info@titanmedicalinc.com
aprior@evcgroup.com
mpolyviou@evcgroup.com
I'm thinking more negatives than positives.
And does "currently active" practice mean Titan is a side job for him?
I will add a question to the letter regarding potential for uplisting. Personally, not a fan of the idea at this point, but we can ask if they are considering it.
Are the EVC addresses there because they have something to do with the uptick in communications? Maybe the letter requires further revision to acknowledge this, if it is so.
Do we know her position/title? Just curious...
I spotted a couple typos in the letter I just posted. Will fix and re-post; also if anyone has final feedback, that would be great.
Thanks! Added...
Could still use help with the distribution list.
Otherwise, here's what I have:
Subject (for email subject line):
Titan Medical Shareholder Letter 2
To Titan Medical Inc. Board of Directors and Management:
This letter is the second such document from our group of concerned shareholders who regularly communicate with each other via the InvestorsHub Titan Medical message board. We intend to continue to send these letters occasionally, and we hope they are received in the spirit in which they are sent, which is to encourage continued open bidirectional communications, and to express our concerns as well as our support and appreciation when we feel it is appropriate.
Toward the latter, we would like to acknowledge certain recent activities by the company. Shortly after our first letter was sent, Titan sent out a press release which appeared to address some of our stated concerns at that time, one of which was the scarcity of communications, and another pertained to the search to fill certain positions. We acknowledge that this press release may have been previously planned and its content largely coincidental with our request, or it may have been a direct response to our request. The latest press release this morning is great news to us on two fronts. Certainly, we are excited to see Ximedica resuming their efforts on a focused path, but we also appreciate seeing this update with the indication that more information will be made available as things progress. Regardless of the reasons, we would like to thank Titan for the information and we hope it proves to be the beginning of a trend toward more regular communications. These memos can serve not only to address and allay some of our concerns, but they can also serve to keep Titan Medical visible to potential additional investors, and show the public a heightened level of corporate responsibility and responsiveness.
Another company activity which we surely need to address is the recent departure of John Hargrove. There are several of us in the group who would like to thank him for his earlier contributions. Many also felt that his most positive influences were confined to his earlier tenure with the company and that, evinced by the current development delays and funding crisis, his departure was overdue. Admittedly, it is much easier for us to place blame, even if misdirected, when we were unable to receive enough information to accurately assess the situation. In part due to this lack of information to the contrary, as a key figure within the organization he has shouldered the blame in many shareholders’ minds. We do appreciate that he recognized the opportunity to step aside and we wish him well in his future endeavors.
With the new temporary governance in place and the ongoing search for permanent leadership, we feel this would be an opportune time for better definition of the vacancies and the currently filled roles alike. As shareholders, we are very interested in the organizational structure and how each of these positions contributes to the company’s goals. With proper descriptions of the responsibilities of each position, it would be much easier for the organization to ensure internal goals are met and proper accountability, both within the organization and to shareholders, can occur. Our first letter expressed desire for some performance metrics for certain key roles, and we would like to reiterate that request, which particularly timely in light of the open positions and current recruitment efforts. Most of the professional working world lives and dies by their performance evaluations, and Titan Medical should not be too different. We certainly are not asking for public disclosure of personnel records, but if the web site listed responsibilities instead of a resume synopsis for each person, we would be able to gauge for ourselves how well some people are contributing, and acknowledge their accomplishments. As an example, when certain team members achieve a professional victory for the organization such as successfully closing on investment capital or arranging a demonstration at a large conference, we feel these victories should be publicized and those responsible should be given the appropriate credit for their hard work.
With these job responsibilities, we would like to see more detail on the specific duties for President, CEO, CFO, and COO. Given the criticality of these roles and the recent history of the company, disclosure of these job descriptions would serve the company well to ease concerns of current and future shareholders, as we could then see that someone is actually assigned oversight of necessary tasks. Additionally, these detailed job descriptions should already exist within an organization that is currently seeking to fill some of them, so we feel that there is no reason that the information should not be shared more openly.
As for the brief prior mention of investment capital, we have questions pertaining to that topic and others as well. With a diverse group of shareholders, we have a diverse set of backgrounds which lead to questions on numerous topics. We ask that you please consider the following subset of questions we have posted on the InvestorsHub message board:
What is the status of the Longtai deal? Do we owe them the two million dollar deposit, or are negotiations proceeding? Was the deposit set aside in case it needs to be returned, or would repayment come from the proceeds of the last offering?
What roles does EVC currently fill and what actions are they taking to fulfill their contractual obligations? Specifically, several members of our group reported having contacted EVC directly for information but they claim they have not received any meaningful responses to their questions.
Can Titan indicate what their current financial needs are to continue the development effort without further interruption to reach program completion? Is Plexus also currently engaged with the program or do they require further payments beforehand? What are the current plans to fund the program?
What is the revised timeline and what are the major dependencies to stay on schedule?
Has Titan applied for and been accepted for the FDA Early Feasibility program and if so, is a schedule set for this activity? Has the company considered deferring FDA approval and targeting a CE Mark first to initiate sales and associated revenue before pursuing the US market?
Why is SPORT not featured on the Titan Medical home page? Why have videos of procedures been removed from the web site?
Are all employees in full time positions with Titan?
Is Titan Medical fully committed to a future in the marketplace as a fully independent publicly traded company, or is the prevailing strategy to seek a buyout or other M&A activity?
We honestly cannot expect detailed answered to all these questions in a public forum, but this represents a sample of the most frequent topics of discussion among our group, and we feel they best represent our most pressing concerns at this time.
To reiterate, we are truly appreciative and supportive of the recent changes which have begun. We encourage regular communications with the public and shareholders, to include press releases and web site postings, and we applaud the recent efforts toward that end. We suggest the web site be updated with current images, videos, timelines, personnel, and job descriptions. We strongly encourage Titan Medical to demand EVC fulfill their contractual obligations in some measurable and reportable way. We truly believe in the technology, and that is the core reason that most of us remain invested with and interested in the company despite the recent occurrences. As professionals, many of us in medical fields, we would love to see the positive affect this device could have on patient outcomes and on hospital budgets. As investors, our hopes are even more obvious.
We plan to continue to provide these open communications to inform you of investor concerns sentiment. We hope you will reciprocate, whether in response to our letters or merely because you agree with the benefit of more open communications.
Sincerely,
Name:
City/State:
Shares held as of October 13, 2016:
Need an accurate email address list for the letter. I have:
mbernholtz@kerbel.ca
john.barker@titanmedicalinc.com
Reiza.rayman@titanmedicalinc.com
info@titanmedicalinc.com
Paige.hargrove@titanmedicalinc.com
For others, I have seen stephen@titanmedicalinc.com and stephen.randall@titanmedicalinc.com (not sure which is correct) and I've seen cseibert@ and chris.seibert@... again, not sure which is correct.
Can't find any indication that Susan Wilkins is still a viable/useful recipient. Also, Ross Mallory was on the distribution list for the first letter but he had absolutely nothing to do with Titan, so please do not send to him.
Would really like to add Sachin Sankholkar, Frederic Nahon, James Shore, and Dr. Wolff if anyone has their addresses.
I made changes to the letter based upon this morning's press release; will send it along soon.
I love the last statement in the press release! Silence is not always golden...
Let's wait for confirmation on Ximedica, then I'll edit the letter appropriately and prep for sending.
I was actually hoping to get the Leadership Team page updated to include those roles and responsibilities, which should answer the questions of "What does he/she do for us?" and that might allow us to figure out if they are actually doing it. I may have to re-word that paragraph to be a little more assertive in that regard.
Paige is VP of World Wide Sales; they also have Frederic Nahon, VP of Sales for Asia and EMEA. Presumably EMEA has something to do with the European Market, considering the corporate overview still states they are aiming for Europe first, then the US. Presumably Asia would be third. I would certainly be interested in knowing what Paige is doing to prep for sales which are conceivably three years away before they start selling beyond Frederic's assigned territory.
It appears that Martin Bernholtz is permanent Chairman; they refer to John Barker specifically as Interim CEO. The the entire board now made up of just four people?
We are accustomed to shifting timelines, but for a change I would like to advance a timeline instead of delay. I had expressed the idea of getting another letter together for a mass email effort, and hoped to send it for feedback tomorrow, then revise and send the final copy on Friday. I'm now hoping to be away Friday, so I have the following for comment and feedback, with hopes to do the mass emailing tomorrow. Meanwhile, if someone can piece together a revised distribution list, that would be great. For your consideration...
Subject (for email subject line): Titan Medical Shareholder Letter
To Titan Medical Inc. Board of Directors and Management:
This letter is the second such document from our group of concerned shareholders who regularly communicate with each other via the InvestorsHub Titan Medical message board. We intend to continue to send these letters occasionally, and we hope they are received in the spirit in which they are sent, which is to encourage continued open bidirectional communications, and to express our concerns as well as our support and appreciation when we feel it is appropriate.
Toward the latter, we would like to acknowledge certain recent activities by the company. Shortly after our first letter was sent, Titan sent out a press release which appeared to address some of our stated concerns at that time, one of which was the scarcity of communications, and another pertained to the search to fill certain positions. We acknowledge that this press release may have been previously planned and its content largely coincidental with our request, or it may have been a direct response to our request. Regardless of the reason, we would like to thank Titan for the information and we hope it proves to be the beginning of a trend toward regular communications. Those memos can serve not only to address and allay some of our concerns, but they can also serve to keep Titan Medical visible to potential additional investors, and show the public a heightened level of corporate responsibility and responsiveness.
Another company activity which we surely need to address is the recent departure of John Hargrove. There are several of us in the group who would like to thank him for his earlier contributions. Many also felt that positive influences were confined to his earlier tenure with the company and that, evinced by the current development delays and funding crisis, his departure was overdue. Admittedly, it is much easier for us to place blame, even if misdirected, when we were unable to receive enough information to accurately assess the situation. In part due to this lack of information to the contrary, as a key figure within the organization he has shouldered the blame in many shareholders’ minds. We do appreciate that he recognized the opportunity to step aside and we wish him well in his future endeavors.
With the new temporary governance in place and the ongoing search for permanent leadership, we feel this would be an opportune time for better definition of the vacancies and the currently filled roles alike. As shareholders, we are very interested in the organizational structure and how each of these positions contributes to the company’s goals. With proper descriptions of the responsibilities of each position, it would be much easier for the organization to ensure internal goals are met and proper accountability, both within the organization and to shareholders, can occur. Our first letter expressed desire for some performance metrics for certain key roles, and we would like to reiterate that request, which particularly timely in light of the open positions and current recruitment efforts. Most of the professional working world lives and dies by their performance evaluations, and Titan Medical should not be too different. We certainly are not asking for public disclosure of personnel records, but if the web site listed responsibilities instead of a resume synopsis for each person, we would be able to gauge for ourselves how well some people are contributing, and acknowledge their accomplishments. As an example, when certain team members achieve a professional victory for the organization such as successfully closing on investment capital or arranging a demonstration at a large conference, we feel these victories should be publicized and those responsible should be given the appropriate credit for their hard work.
With these job responsibilities, we would like to see more detail on the specific duties for President, CEO, CFO, and COO. Given the criticality of these roles and the recent history of the company, disclosure of these job descriptions would serve the company well to ease concerns of current and future shareholders, as we could then see that someone is actually assigned oversight of necessary tasks.
With the recent mention of investment capital, we have questions pertaining to that topic and others as well. With a diverse group of shareholders, we have a diverse set of backgrounds which lead to questions on numerous topics. We ask that you please consider the following subset of questions we have posted on the InvestorsHub message board:
What is the status of the Longtai deal? Do we owe them the two million dollar deposit, or are negotiations proceeding? Was the deposit set aside in case it needs to be returned, or would repayment come from the proceeds of the last offering?
What roles does EVC currently fill and what actions are they taking to fulfill their contractual obligations? Specifically, several members of our group reported having contacted EVC directly for information but they claim they have not received any meaningful responses to their questions.
Can Titan indicate what their current financial needs are to fully restart the development effort and to reach program completion? Are Ximedica and Plexus both currently engaged with the program or do they require further payments beforehand? What are the current plans to fund the program?
What is the revised timeline and what are the major dependencies to stay on schedule?
Has Titan applied for and been accepted for the FDA Early Feasibility program and if so, is a schedule set for this activity? Has the company considered deferring FDA approval and targeting a CE Mark first to initiate sales and associated revenue before pursuing the US market?
Why is SPORT not featured on the Titan Medical home page? Why have videos of procedures been removed from the web site?
Are all employees in full time positions with Titan?
Is Titan Medical fully committed to a future in the marketplace as a fully independent publicly traded company, or is the prevailing strategy to seek a buyout or other M&A activity?
Can we expect a continuation of the improved frequency of communications and status updates from the company?
We honestly cannot expect detailed answered to all these questions in a public forum, but this represents a sample of the most frequent topics of discussion among our group, and we feel they best represent our most pressing concerns at this time.
To reiterate, we are truly appreciative and supportive of the recent changes which have begun. We encourage regular communications with the public and shareholders, to include press releases and web site postings. We suggest the web site be updated with current images, videos, timelines, personnel, and job descriptions. We strongly encourage Titan Medical to demand EVC fulfill their contractual obligations in some measurable and reportable way. We truly believe in the technology, and that is the core reason that most of us remain invested with and interested in the company despite the recent occurrences. As professionals, many of us in medical fields, we would love to see the positive affect this device could have on patient outcomes and on hospital budgets. As investors, our hopes are even more obvious.
We plan to continue to provide these open communications to inform you of investor concerns sentiment. We hope you will reciprocate, whether in response to our letters or merely because you agree with the benefit of more open communications.
Sincerely,
Name:
City/State:
Shares held as of October 14, 2016:
Sales, not yet. But marketing drives hype which spurs investment dollars. Marketing team should be getting the product into trade publications and into big conferences for exposure to surgeons, OR staff, and administrators who control the hospitals' purse strings. Having a tangible product with enough functionality for demos should have this marketing team out straight getting the word out.
Not touting Paige for any specific reason; as I noted I want to know what she should be doing and what she is doing... but she had 11 years with J&J, so maybe still some connections somewhere.
I would still like to get the second Open Letter out at the end of this week if possible, but today's announcement certainly answers some of our previous questions and concerns!
I guess the originally planned "thank you" message will have additional meaning! Given the current transition, it would be a great time for us to assert Bristol's question about the actual role of the president. They certainly should have accurately defined what they are looking for in a permanent replacement.
We will still need to address further personnel changes as possibilities; I would like to maintain the request for performance metrics for these positions (as compared to standard definitions for those titles) and indications as to how and when further developments may occur, and the extent to which proper succession planning is happening. It could be that since his ouster from COB, this resignation has been planned but needed to get proverbial ducks lined up first. As for Paige and others, I still believe they should be given a chance to prove their merits. Paige does have a respectable resume and MAY be well qualified for her position, but the last name alone is enough to put a target on her back. As with others, I would want to know what she is supposed to be doing, and to what extent and how well she is doing it. It would be great if we ultimately discover that most of the rest of the team is competent and focused. For those who prove otherwise, I'm with the rest of you in that I think any "dead wood" needs to go.
I still also plan to ask Hypocrates' questions including why SPORT isn't on their home page, where the colorectal video went, do we owe Longtai $2M, etc. plus Devicerep's question about the FDA Early Feasibility program vs. if the focus should be exclusively on CE mark at this point.
I'm still taking notes! I hope to send a draft out Thursday and a final on Friday morning for distribution the same way as the first letter. We may need to refine our distribution list!
You wish, or you have news?
The Leadership Team page on the web site lists what each person did in the past, but says nothing about what they are doing for Titan (and therefore also us) now. That is part of the info I am looking for. I'll be sure to include appropriate verbiage to try to pry that information from them.
Early Feasibility is added to the list. Regardless of their answer, it shows them that we have at least a moderately knowledgeable group of investors involved.
What specific issues do we want to address in another mass email event? Let's start building a new list. The last press release seemed to have a positive effect on PPS, and it (the press release) may have been in response to our letter. I for one would like to address the following:
1. Thank them for the previous communication.
2. Ask if they have made internal progress on redefining roles, with performance metrics, based upon the limited restructuring implied by the new engineering person and COO hunt.
3. Status of the talent searches.
4. Any upcoming public exposure for the device and the company.
5. Discussions they should be having with EVC for actual investor relations tasks.
6. Content of discussions with Ximedica and Plexus with proposed schedules for work resumption.
7.Financial update to include expected burn rate for the last round, further fundraising plans vs. projected needs for end of year and for project completion.
8. The impact of all these on the project timeline.
Anything else... let me know! We should all be on board with the content. And I hope to do that same thing as last time to show we are all on the same page, and by communicating this way regularly, we are setting an example for them.
Bristol, I'm with you on the mind-boggling part! They certainly seemed to have everything going their way as recently as this spring.
The FDA guidance (Human Factors) was released in April and seemed to be a big reason for the redesigns (and maybe a little gun-shy about FDA after TRXC got burned) but they had prelim copies and knew it was coming before that.
Can anyone tell us what a typical cash burn rate should be for this type of development program compared to what they had been spending? I don't think they were overly frivolous with the spending but I can't say that I know for sure. Not trying specifically to defend them but if we have some metrics against which to compare, we might determine amongst ourselves if they have been squandering our investments or if they indeed had been acting responsibly on the development effort, in which case the biggest issue lies in their fundraising capability, likely exacerbated by thin PR. Alternately, maybe their fundraising was appropriate for this effort but the engineering side burned through the cash at an inappropriate rate.
If we can figure out where the real issue has been, we would be better poised to offer suggestions to mitigate the issues moving forward.
Part of the inquiry by me is because a week has gone by since our email blast, and I want to start putting together our next round of communication for next Friday or so. I/we figured every 2 to 3 weeks wouldn't be so often as to piss them off, and gives us time to assemble a rational letter with specific concerns listed.
I'm still in full (132K shares) and holding. As I mentioned this morning, if there's enough of an additional dip and nothing any more catastrophic than the current situation, I might splurge to drop cost average further and hopefully cover taxes if/when it turns profitable for us.
I'm not ruling it out at this point... When we were mid-60's for a while, did we really think we'd see .29? I'd hate for it to go lower than it is now and I still believe at some point the value of the technology will become a factor in PPS. Mid-teens is just a strike point I set in my mind to make some numbers look prettier on paper. My $5K would get me about 35K more shares. If we clear the current hurdle and get back to the profit side, that extra would roughly pay my taxes on the whole investment.
I'm thinking if we get to mid-teens I might drop another $5K or so to further reduce my cost average and bulk up my position in case of a reverse split, or as a hedge against the mandatory future dilution. But if/when it gets to mid-teens, I will first need to re-evaluate their current position, and if there are real signs of progress on the management front. And if an R/S comes before mid-teens, I'll probably wait a bit to see if the R/S picks them up or drags them down.
Good morning all... Looks like I'm kicking things off today and I just got caught up on last night's postings.
First, CUIN2, thanks for your insights and contributions, and be well! Best of luck, and feel free to say hi once in a while as a respected alumnus of the board.
Second, I'm still a believer in the technology and feel the patents and IP must have a value higher than the current PPS, so most scenarios shouldn't end up with losses greater than we have already taken. Therefore, I'm riding it out. I know that crossing my fingers isn't going to help, but just sticking the middle one out at Titan management is more likely to be detrimental so...
Also, I'm down over 50% but only because I had nabbed my first chunk of stock at 44 cents. I look at it a binary bet, either it will be a total loss, in which case the tax write-off will at least soften the blow, or it turns around (whether as a solo act, M&A, whatever...) and becomes a win of some sort.
On the bright side, my inner sarcastic pessimist says we are lucky even in the worst case scenario because if we continue to lose 2% per day until the end of the year, the markets are closed Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day, so it's almost like a 4% gain because of the holidays!
As for the party in Vegas... the way you folks have been bashing each other lately on this board, looks like Vegas will be quite a slugfest if we ever get there! One would think that we could work a bit more cohesively as a team; after all, we should all have the same goal in mind, which is to get Titan and our PPS off the ground. We can waste inordinate amounts of time slinging mud at our least favorite management members or even at each other, but I'll tell you right now that it shows no remarkable levels of insightful to predict that PennyStock is going to post a message saying we are headed for .0099. Just isn't helpful info at all.
Focus!
I'd be happy to be the representative, but I think the mass mailing had an impact which was important, and I also wouldn't want them to think I was "going rogue" so to speak. The best way to show that we are working as a team and to ensure we get their attention is probably to maintain the mass mailings, at least for the foreseeable future.
My apologies, Hypocrates... I was typing when your posting appeared so I hadn't seen it until after I submitted. But we seem to have similar lines of thought.
I'm on board with the idea of a "Shareholder's Sentiment Update" maybe every couple (2-3) weeks, and I'd be happy to continue authoring them, with everyone's input as we did for the first letter. As their communications are issued by their preferred means (press release, web site postings, etc.), we can provide feedback and refine our questions and concerns. It appears they at least acknowledged some of the concerns we expressed in the initial letter, so maybe we can use this as an interactive communication tool. I would initially want to express our appreciation for the latest press release, but then delve into some of the new questions or concerns which it raises, such as:
Does the indicated use of the new funding replace the EV5 build and previously expressed goals, or can that also be accomplished with the current cash balance?
Can the roles of the COO and Engineering hire be expounded upon further, given the traditional job descriptions for these titles and the overlap the stated COO responsibilities share with the CFO duties?
Is the funding indeed sufficient to meet the goals of re-starting development at both Ximedica and Plexus?
What impact is anticipated on the overall schedule due to the fundraising effort bringing in only the minimum funding?
Is there an anticipated date by which another round of fundraising should be expected? (may not be answerable; smacks of inside info for trading; therefore maybe shouldn't even be asked).
With regard to succession planning mentioned in the press release, can they expound upon the scope and what the plan is to balance stability with the need for change?
I would like to give them some time to do a little more planning before sending out the next round of questions and concerns. Hopefully they will see this post and anticipate the future. Personally, I see a great potential benefit for the entire Titan community if we can maintain their attention and continue these interactions.
I'm out for the day... Thanks again to all who helped spread our message today, and I hope you all have a great weekend!
And thanks for the correction, by the way... closing one more gap!
I just went by the list that was posted. Maybe Ms. Wilkins is about to get a few emails!