TraderJoe812 - You're not too far off ...
Many here are considered experts, or at least Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) in their own fields. Some are technical SMEs, while many others have had a reasonable amount of prior experience building start-up businesses from scratch, or growing mid-stage companies into publicly held companies. Still others have experience dealing with government accounts, major consulting companies and/or managed operations out-sourcers.
All-in-all, I would say you're not too far off when you refer to some posters on this board as so-called "experts". That being said, while we all have our own thresholds of patience, tolerance and frustration, many on this board are smart enough to realize the space that Wave is in, and the massive challenge they took on just to get a seat at the table.
We have all grown to learn, either by first-hand experience, or through this investment that even a great technology (like Wave's) does not just ubiquitously become the de-facto standard overnight. Without OEM players like Intel, AMD, NSM, and market influencers like Microsoft, HP, IBM and others, Wave would find it too difficult to influence and align all of the moving parts by themselves in a market of this size. Just look at all of the interoperability standards boards between SW and HW manufacturers, here and abroad.
Then add all of the integrated, and/or dependent security products (appliances) on the market, and their own standards that need to be convinced, and then proven viable. Now combine that with the challenge of educating the market and themselves via reference design iterations, pricing issues, scalability issues, ease-of-use issues, documentation needs, field training and testing, and finally, manufacturing lead-times and build cycles.
I won't go on, but suffice it to say that many of us are not as concerned about who charges a meal using the company credit card as we are whether the people charging those meals can:
1. Open the right doors with all of the right players
2. Demonstrate instant credibility whenever they're in the room
3. Have a clear vision, and show constant progress towards that vision.
4. Stay adequately capitalized until that vision is realized
5. Keeping the best interests of the company (and its shareholders) at the forefront of their minds.
6. Move the company to profitability, and to a point where the shareholders benefit from their actions
7. Pursue success with an undying passion, never giving up, and never losing site of #6
8. Show tangible progress that convinces the shareholders that the industry will, or is adopting the technology
9. Get invited to participate in the advancement of their technology, instead of being shut out.
10 And can get back to work right after they pay the bill.
It's not easy pulling off what Wave is trying to accomplish. And nothing, and I mean nothing, ever progresses at a cosnsitent pace, or in a straight upward line. That is why some of the "so-called" experts are still here. We may be lousy at playing the market the right way, but we believe we know a good business idea when we see one.
So we've all decided to base our investment and patience on what we know, and leave all of the things that we don't know up to others.
