The Right Way.....Response to Chuck
I have no idea. I don't know the man, have never met the man.
What I do know is this. I am an aerospace engineer, and engineers are by the numbers conservative. As a group, they have high FICO scores, low debt, and don't take chances.
In general, I believe people are inherently good. The mistakes I see good people make is letting their ego start controlling decision making. I'm assuming Dr. Russell is a good guy. I'm also assuming Dr. Russell is a smart guy. Whether he will task jobs where his expertise is limited, is something we will have to see.
The finest group of engineers I have worked with was the Team at Boeing in Wichita KS on the 777 project. There were no egos, no worrying about hurting somebody's feelings, just straight engineers building an airplane. To this day, I have never been in such a wonderful work environment. Total straight shooters. Example: "Hey Ken, you got the fastener spacing fooked up here, should be 5 x D spacing" Ken's response: "Damn, you're right, I'll fix that". When egos aren't in play, things get done quick, correct, and cheap.
In looking at the credentials displayed on the company website, Dr. Russell is surrounded by engineers, which again as a group are conservative. Finally, I would also believe that a PHD in Engineering Physics would not risk his reputation on a stock pump.
Two things a startup like this needs to get cheap financing. Business model showing near term earnings, or magic. By magic I mean ground breaking earth shattering technology. The earnings path takes more time, the magic brings in speculators, and the initial investors are rewarded immediately.
Hopefully, Dr. Russell has a little of both.
