I see things this way...
Mr. Thompson is CEO of Kraig Labs. But, first, he was a Genius. VP of some small company with a focus on Financials and, dare I say it, Marketing. Then whet his worth in the Investment world. Primarily focused on small caps (hmm, sounds familiar). To then become a Corporate Attorney specializing in IP and Distribution Rights. His undergrad degree is in Applied Economics. No doubt he is highly intellectual. He CHOSE the path he did for a reason. That reason led him to found Kraig Biocraft Laboratories.
I don't believe Mr. Thompson has an understanding of operations, though. Nor does he have the time to get up-to-speed on them. Hiring Mr. Rice was a smart move. He needed someone to focus on the Operations and the micro view of things while he focused on the macro. That was a major step forward for Kraig Labs. It got the company focused on getting out of the lab and into production. That doesn't happen overnight. With any product. Great strides have been made to get to the point the company's at now.
That was four years ago Mr. Thompson made that move to bring on his "production guy." Mr. Rice has accomplished much in those four years. Including guiding Kraig from a domestic company to an international one. On the brink of supplying the "holy grail" of textiles to the World! Not an easy task as all have witnessed.
As we all know, Spider Silk has been "on the radar" for millenia without a viable way to mass produce for various reasons. Mr. Thompson saw an opportunity. To me he took the wisest route towards mass production. Of course, it took testing, testing, and more testing. But, IMHO, he wouldn't have hired Mr. Rice four years ago if he wasn't comfortable with the viability of his product. He wouldn’t have pushed to show the Army what we had. He wouldn’t have expanded operations abroad. Et. Al. His vision is being revealed to us and realized before our eyes.
Now, there's no doubt in my mind Mr. Thompson knows Kraig Labs needs to be able to mass produce. The sustainability of his dream and company relies on it. He is acting deliberate. I truly believe in the end, when we are all fat and happy rolling in our dough, there will be a collective “Ah-ha” expelled as the “plan to’s” are finally revealed as solidified reality.
Let’s be real, Mr. Thompson isn’t starting a local lawncare company. Throwing products on Amazon or Ebay. Building an app. Instead, he is taking a product from scratch and building a company out of it. Not some local company but a multinational company. Not just any product, either. We are talking SPIDER SILK! A product needing to be genetically modified then tested ad nauseum to find out if it is scalable. Then tested to ensure it can meet the rigors of the next step…Mass Production. Then, tested for actually being in a position to produce with regularity without a hitch. Because, at the level this company wants to be at, contingencies for the contingencies need to be developed. Potential setbacks need to be planned for with solutions already locked and loaded. SOP’s need to be in place when production starts. THAT ALL TAKES TIME! A lot of time!
As I see it, the foundation is in place. This goes beyond providing samples or shoot packs. This is all about having the product ready to fully go in whatever capacity is desired. And being able to pivot as needed without losing the company and everything built on up to this point. That takes a frugal, methodical approach. We investors are antsy to make our money, now. After all, it will validate our investment.
I have helped three private companies succeed while serving in the same capacity as Mr. Rice. One on an international level, one nationally, and one regionally. The international company was looking to expand its product line from a small engineering company to jumping into the cell tower arena during the big cell tower buildout back in the early 2000’s. The national one started out with an idea and one client in one state which I promptly took to 20 clients in 5 states within two months. The regional company needed a seamless transition in ownership after a buyout, and I provided the guidance to not only protect profits but increase them within the first year. Those all were easy compared to trying to build my own products from scratch and bring them to market. That unique perspective, I believe, helps me to help “read the tea leaves” in the case of KBLB.
Based on those tea leaves I say…
Mr. Thompson would have never had the need to hire Mr. Rice if the product wasn’t ready to come out of the lab. Kraig would have never gone into Vietnam if the product wasn’t ready to scale up. They would not have leased the 50,000 sf facility if they were not ready to take the next step for mass production. And, lastly, the PR today would not have stated a definitive timeline if the company wasn’t ready to fulfill.
All IMHO! Go KBLB!!!
AI
