Response from Don:
I decided to go on and send my suggestion to Don:
Don,
Forget fancy offices and put some doublewides on the property til you get the mill rolling. No one will care what kind of conference room you have if you can't even show a profit... especially when it comes at the cost of dilution. If anything, an on-site trailer will be perceived as frugal management with a team that desires to actively monitor operations. I'd also forego a giant mill in the near term, and instead design a modest one where you can knock out a wall and add on to it later once you know what capacity you'll actually need. Increasing the A/S should be absolute last resort. Check out I-hub… your shareholders are starting to mutiny. Just my two cents.
Shannon
about a minute ago
Reply:
Thank you Shannon. All plans will be executed with cost saving measures at the forefront. Appreciate your support of First Liberty Power and your feedback.
[EOM]
… Heard and acknowledged… so at least there's that. Management pros and cons aside, he is always courteous.
…That said…
One time, I called the (now former) CEO of Nanosphere (thank God I sold before their drop) asking about his life story for my students (all he had was a BS in Zoology, but had been a successful business man for 30 years, having created a company that got bought by Abbott, among other things) and I was curious-thought it'd make a good inspirational story. He called back and gave me his personal cell number and we talked all about his life (teaching natural science to pass time while wife in school/founding an alternative learning program in the process, then sales, then working his way up the food chain), his advice to students "always seek improvement through radical change," the UK/Duke rivalry, and getting my husband a job… he also talked about failure, using edison and batting averages as metaphors. Interestingly he resigned a few weeks after because (I think) the BOD was hostile/ pushed him out… [It was essentially one family of investors that bought up over 50% and got control- I was never sure about that...] I got out before the double whammy drop… but always remembered 2 things- 1: He was an awesome person. 2. Even awesome people have bad things happen to their companies. (and I guess 3- wondering if that 'failure' bit was a message) haha. Let's hope this is not another #2.
