NWAV ROADTRIP SUMMARY & REPORT
Hello all,
First off, let me preface this with, I normally write code, not papers. Second, thanks everyone for a fun trip. I’m not just talking about Florida and Ohio. I’m talking about entrance into stocks. That’s correct. Not a stock pro here, first decent investment in a stock really. I got lucky with about 700 shares of OWCP when a buddy suggested that this might be right up my alley and pointed me towards it. Then I started looking for another stock since it was apparent 700 shares wasn’t going to do me anything in the near future that I wasn’t going to get in a pay check anyway.
So backup… Who am I and why should you listen to me? Well, I’m more or less just a regular guy, for all intents and purposes, nobody. I do however happen to have a unique perspective that made this stock stand out to me as something to watch. Day to day I am a computer programmer, writing software to analyze various business functions ranging from marketing performance and employee efficiency to customer shopping patterns and inventory allotment. Since I’m also a big fan of money, I build websites on the side, primarily medical since doctors generally always pay. Lawyers are good to, but I digress…
I live in Missouri and as we are bordered on three sides here by states with MMJ in some form or another in the works, and have a sad, sad, little program here ourselves, we all know MMJ is on the way. In Mo we currently have very restrictive legislation, only two companies allowed to produce CBD oil for epilepsy, and few neurologists willing to recommend it yet. I can’t blame the doctors, nobody wants to be the first and risk their career. Med school isn’t cheap! To have those loans and not be able to practice… No thank you! Keep that in mind when you think about these doctors working with PAO already… Pioneers.
That being said, doctors don’t always make the best lawyers, marketers, or technical security experts. Trust me when I say as we web developer, I’m really glad these doctors are doctors, not web developers, or even designers for that matter. Nor should they be! They went to school to be doctors. Most know their limitations but sometimes they try to build their own site. They normally soon realize that when looking at time to dollars while comparing to overall website quality and shortened development time, it was best to just pay a developer/designer to do it, and everyone ends up happier and more successful. Similarly, I’m sure I could drill a hole or two in someone’s spine, pack it with Plexiglas, and call it a Kyphoplasty. I mean that is in essence, what the procedure is, but I make no claims that the patient would be in either less pain, or breathing at the end of the procedure. Having PAO to lean on for knowledge in areas doctors simply aren’t going to know as much about such as legal or make use of PAO's online tech, will allow smaller practices to explode and larger ones to dominate in this emerging medical sector as it spreads across the country.
While the MMJ aspect alone makes linking up with PAO attractive to doctors here in Mo who want to be in ahead of the curve, it is just a portion of the benefits. My most recent build was for a pain management surgeon who is already offering several alternative medical solutions offered by PAO and others that are not. After seeing how much business my client does on alternative medicine though, it is clear that MMJ, while massive, is only a part of this equation here.
With our current healthcare system in a state of uncertainty, many patients are finding themselves weighing their options as the cost with insurance for many procedures is just as unaffordable as it is without. The Hormone and stem cell therapies alone are massive. As PAO grows and more doctors join, more ideas will spread, more solutions will be offered. One procedure my client offers now is Platelet Rich Plasma Injections. They cost the patient about $500 and are not covered by insurance despite showing overwhelming success rates. Like everything, as these procedures become more available, and better understood by the non-medical community, they become more affordable. Between the nightmare stories I’ve heard from clients and family, patients and doctors, everyone is ready for some options in healthcare. This isn’t news.
Then you throw RSII in the mix, couple that with the fact that this company is not only growing its roots in two of the most conservative / restrictive states in the union and making it look easy. If their model works in Ohio and Florida, they can adapt to work in any virgin state as well as push into more saturated markets (once the low hanging fruit is gone). Seems to be a pretty good position to be in.
At this point I’m sure I’ve got some people saying, “Making it look easy?!?!?!?! I keep hearing they are a scam?!?!?!”. Now I’ve learned if you even imply a negative motivation behind anyone’s actions on this board you are very likely to have your post removed, so I will simply ask. Why would someone you don’t know, who will never meet you, be hanging out in a stock gossip forum warning you “hey, don’t buy this it’s a scam”? I’d love to believe that everyone is my buddy, but have you played video games online? Have you seen what anonymity has done to behavior online? So without further delay, this is what I’ve got on NWAV…
NWAV SUMMARY & REPORT (Part #2 - Ohio)
So let’s start in Ohio. I was up there March 24, 2017. I started in Sandusky and then went down to Parma. The Sandusky office was exactly where it was supposed to me. This is one thing that had me dying laughing. We’re all sitting around here asking “Where is it? It’s not where it’s supposed to be!”, totally freaking out. Shoot, I took vacation days to drive up to Ohio because I wanted to make sure I wasn’t caught up in some Wolf of Wall Street pipe dream and thought we (the longs (the vocal ones at least, I’m learning here guys lol) on the board) had discovered some serious new info and I was gonna get proof. Just a couple days ago I’m looking at the PAO Facebook page. There is a sample ID they posted on Jan 20, 2017. It’s got the address on there, plain as day! Since Jan 20th! They aren’t hiding info from us, they are busy working! Opening 6 locations and launching a website in a couple months is a daunting task.
I made it up to Sandusky and found the clinic with no trouble. It is kind of tucked away in the back, not really easy to see unless you know where you’re going. No signage in the shopping center, but great signage at the entrance. To tell you the truth, I was a little disappointed in that at first, but later it all made more sense. I was able to talk to the neighbors in the unit closest to the street. They were telling me that they were really busy the previous week but were able to finish up moving everything in early and were “just waiting on the official go date”. I don’t remember exactly how I brought it up other than I was asking as a potential patient, not as an Investor, so there was zero reason to tell me a lie. That and the guy was very laid back, positive, and had sounded as if he believed it would be good for the community. When I was saying good bye I threw in there, “Man I wish these guys had stock, I would totally get some!” to which he said, “No kidding, I should ask if they do!” I hope he did.
As far as what I could actually see, honestly not too much new. The signs were up and looking good. Everything was clean. Computers had some monitor glow at the desk in the lobby. I got there early in the morning and checked on it as soon as I got into town (about 1:30am… in the rain… lol… didn’t care, it was there!!!). I came back the next morning (where I talked to the neighbor) and the lights were out so it appeared someone had been there. The maintenance door was open between units but I’m getting too old to crawl through ceiling tiles and get trespassing charges, plus I had seen enough to feel good that things were on the up and up. I seriously considered it anyway, but thankfully I brought my fiancé, not my buddy, or I might have been writhing a much less complete report from a cell as I would rather have the stock than bail.
Before heading down to Parma I checked out a few other things. I went to the Sandusky Wellness Center on 3703 Columbus Ave. This is where Dr. Greg(g) Winnestaffer, who will be at the Sandusky clinic, currently has an office. A nice building not too far away and after seeing how Florida is building out around Jacksonville, and talking to the staff of the medical complex where Dr. Bernard’s Friday office is, it would not seem farfetched to me that this location could serve as at least another referral source / satellite for PAO. This is just speculation on my part, but why not?
I also checked out the Bank that was for lease in the same shopping center as the Sandusky clinic (1028 Cleveland Rd). There are no for rent signs on it anymore as seen in the Google Maps images. It looks unoccupied however there are some signs on the door that say “Lucky’s Entertainment” with little shamrocks. In the PR that came out Nov 3, 2016 it clearly said that they renegotiated the lease to get the bigger unit, but I still hold out hope that they grabbed the bank too and are saving it for Central Office / Dispensary / RSII Lab, but that is just me hoping. Couldn’t blame them for being quiet, I mean look at how we hound them for info, but think about a bank drive through with multiple lanes and a huge vault. How could a company like this, make use of a building like that?
Next I went down to Parma to find the other clinic, but one thing first. I’m not from Ohio, never been to Ohio, didn’t know anything about the place. So when I read the PR talking about the opiate addiction problem in Ohio and saw some news clips about how they had the highest death rate from opiate overdose, I was like, “Yeah it’s bad stuff, got that problem here. Tons of meth too. Wanna talk murder rates, we all got problems, and what?” Ok, well maybe not that cold, but the point is I absolutely underestimated what was going on up there. In Sandusky there were some billboards, a few signs here and there, but more than at home. It was apparent that opioid addiction was a public concern, but by the time I got to Cleveland, parts of the city looked almost like a WWII “buy war bonds” news reals. There were signs everywhere warning about heroin and pills. Bus stops, trash cans, benches, everywhere! Once I made it down to Parma it was a little less apparent, but all that means is that it wasn’t smacking me in the face anymore.
So the Parma office was a lot more viable than Sandusky, which makes sense. Folks in recovery aren’t really looking to be called out on it, or seen going in. Having a nice entrance in the back of the shopping center fitted the need up in Sandusky. Parma was the exact opposite. It’s positioned in a pretty nice medical building on the corner of a big intersection that is impossible to miss. Walk through the front doors, make a right and you’re there. The first 5 units facing the street are all AMCA. The office had easy to see professional signage, name and unit number in the buildings info board, and a mostly finished office visible from the mail slot and windows, and a note directing deliveries to go to the main door, not the other doors. This location was a win too! So Ohio looked great! Both of these are corporate locations, so revenues there will be all PAO! I almost convinced my fiancé to keep south and check out Florida on the way home, but there just were not enough hours left in the weekend to get back for work, so I would have to wait.
NWAV SUMMARY & REPORT (Part #3 - Florida)
Let me start this part of the report with an apology to IR. Now that I’ve seen all the locations, talked to some people in person, and thought about all the work, and the timelines involved in businesses I’ve only to helped launch (not plan, and initiate)… in a single state… in much less volatile, history making sectors… and then compare to what you all have said you were doing to do, and have in fact done, in the time you have done it... I take back all the less than friendly messages I left over the last month or so when I didn’t understand, or misread the PR, or mistook something I saw. I even left a couple this weekend in Florida. I normally felt pretty dumb when I figured out what I was missing if that makes you feel better. While we’re being all forgiving, since I’m in part 3 of a report on a series of cross country road trips stalking your company, I would not trust me to keep quiet either, so totally forgive you for never calling me back LOL. At this point though, come on guys, drop the PR, make everyone happy, and let me get a real tour so I can say thanks in person!
Ok, so I packed up the car and headed down to Orange Park. When I got there I was happy to see, much like Ohio, exactly what I expected to. Having AMCA logs on the door and windows was a great start. The parking lot was full, even around back. There even looked to be people waiting in their car in the lot next door because they were either early, didn’t feel like waiting inside, or maybe both. I walked in, looked around, saw that they were packed, and just looked lost and got out of there. After all this was a live working practice. I know how busy those offices can get and with a possibly overflowing waiting room, I didn’t want to interrupt and ask silly questions. Seeing there were 5 patients in the waiting room, 4 visible staff members moving quickly to get things done in the section of office behind the admittance window, and who knows how many of each I couldn’t see in the other 80% of the building, I didn’t need any more convincing that they were busy. Seemed to be everything I could hope for here.
A few things to note about this location before moving on to the others… It is positioned wonderfully at an intersection, with a stop light, across from a large medical center. The number of patients a day that are going to leave that medical center and see the green cross in the windows here will be huge. There is also a pharmacy attached to the building. As of April 3rd 2017 Florida’s Senate has passed a new plan through its first hearing which is much less restrictive that the one from the house, allowing for edibles and vaping, just not smoking, along with all other treatment options. It also proposes increasing the number of dispensaries and independent labs testing the medical MJ treatments. Don’t we know a company that could benefit from that? Sure this is six months to a year away, so what do we do till then? I guess we work on registering more patients and give the lawmakers the numbers they need to put some weight behind what the people are saying they want. Wait a second, so you are telling me actions speak louder than words? So wait a second, by that logic, I guess I would rather have 5 verified locations and no PR, than a glowing PR full of promises.
Now I mentioned leaving some unhappy messages with IR. That was because when I got to Jacksonville Beach I could not find the AMCA sticker anywhere and I didn’t want to go into random buildings asking about it. I called IR and left message and my phone number. Surprisingly, they didn’t call me back. Cooler heads prevailed and after I realized that I sure as heck wouldn’t call me back either, but I was already down there and couldn’t go home and leave it at that… I went in and played patient and turned up some good info though.
So we have seen on the Pointe Medical website that 905 Beach is Dr. Bernard’s part time office. He is only there on Fridays. This of course was a big old red flag until I understood the business a little better. How can we count this as a clinic if the doctor is only there on Fridays? We’ll doctors having a couple offices is nothing new, they do it all the time. The problem is that Dr. Bernard is only one guy, so how can he be in two places at once and make use of two offices in a way we can really count as two clinics? That is the beauty of this model, with even just what we have seen of the altmedcenters.com page, the secure video referral system (MCVerify), and proper staffing, a doctor’s practice can rapidly scale up to multiple locations in short order. The software allows the doctor to be anywhere provided they have a location with staff such as a Physician’s Assistant or Nurse Practitioner to aid in the recommendation. Now all the sudden this location made more sense.
Well, confirmation on that was the second thing that came out of the mouth of the very nice lady working at the desk. “Dr. Bernard hasn’t been at this location in a few weeks actually. ” My heart stopped. “I know he’s been out trying to hire some more staff. I know he needs at least a PA (Physician’s Assistant).” I vision came back into my left eye, then my right, followed by a heartbeat. More staff is good. The other lady chimed in, “Yeah I think he’s been working on getting a new location ready the past couple weeks.” I need to start playing poker. I politely said thanks and sorry for the confusion, I must be trying to get to his other office. Joked around for a minute since they were really friendly people and headed for Ft. Lauderdale. At this point not having had time to think it through and realize how good of news that was, but feeling better about all I had just heard.
Now my next stop was Ft. Lauderdale since I only had so many business hours left in the trip, but first I’ll talk about St. Augustine. When it was announced that PAO Group got their lease at this location I was pretty happy. Unfortunately I was not able to figure out where it was, nor did they give a location. Seeing how this location is not too much further from Jacksonville Beach than orange park (in the greater scheme of things), with Green Cove Springs (another location mentioned in PR) almost between Orange Park and St. Augustine, it seems to make sense that Dr. Bernard will be in fact heading up multiple locations as we were told in his FB video with Robert Webber. Also, the St. Augustine location looked to be in overall good shape in the video, and seems to not need much more than paint and equipment as it was previously a doctor’s office. Having been 2 full weeks since they took possession, I would not be surprised if they were ready to open in short order and then we will have our first corporate location in Florida.
Ok, on to Ft. Lauderdale. Well for starters… Man the turnpike can slow ya down! I didn’t get down there till after business hours and it was Friday so I was out of luck for catching anyone there. Just like you find looking online, there was Hollywood Hormone Therapy sign, just no AMCA. I was a little irritated. Left IR another real peach of a message, and sat there for a minute or ten. I was able to see through the windows in the front that the lobby looks just like its picture on the website, but the lights were out and the only picture I could get was more reflection of my phone than image of the lobby, so I didn’t bother taking a picture of it.
Now at this point, despite overwhelming evidence that this is in fact everything promised, I’m sitting there seeing ready to pop actually thinking. Maybe they are right… Crazy talk I realize now, but I had been in a car for 20+ hours. Anything short of a grand opening parade was going to be a disappointment. I went back to the PRs to see what I had missed. Just like the freaking ID with the Sandusky location on it that sat in plain sight for months. When I talked with the staff in Jacksonville Beach, I mentioned Alternative Medical Center in the office next door when I was looking for Dr. Bernard’s office. Just like the people who called the phone numbers asking about the PAO group getting confused answers. Everyone there knew Dr. Bernard, only one of the neighbors knew that Alternative Medical Centers was, “that thing Dr. Bernard is working on”. Patients going to Hollywood Hormone Therapy are making appointments to see a doctor, not a physician’s group. In this case they want to see Dr. Michael Schmidt who also runs a family medicine practice a little further north in Deerfield Beach. Me getting hung up on the AMCA sticker not being in the window seems kinda silly now that I have had sleep and EVERYTHING else is where it was expected to be. Additionally, because of the scalability of this business model, I won’t be shocked if we see similar developments with Dr. Schmidt in the Ft. Lauderdale and easily drivable surrounding areas as we have seen in the Jacksonville area with Dr. Bernard and the northern Florida locations.
NWAV SUMARY & REPORT (Conclusion)
So having time to get home and type everything out. More than ever, I like what I see here. If my biggest beef is that two satellite locations don’t have logos in the window, but everything else seems to be going pretty darn well… Things could be a lot worse. They seem to be meeting goals on time which is apparently unheard of in the OTC. We also look to have been building a very strong base over the last month investor wise and the PPS has had one of the smoothest stabilizations after initial discovery that I’ve been able to find going through other stock histories. Throw the fact that we have a PR due any day and 4/20 in two weeks where MJ is about to be national news on CNN and all the other news stations, like it is every year around 4/20, it would seem to me that great things are on the horizon.
Good luck all!
