Here was a great one from Boiler1183
Here are the facts every investor should be considering. This needs to be read and understood by anyone investing in Solos.
As to my accreditation, I personally work for a niche supplier to the aerospace and power-generation industries, and will speak analogously from my experience and knowledge to debunk some of the unnecessary arguments being used to propagate doubt and fear about Solos' business approach. I will present nothing but general knowledge, experience, and facts, and allow the reader to draw their own conclusions.
I have seen the rhetorical question posed several times about how the ISO 13485:2003 and CE mark could possibly improve Solos' market penetration in selling Endoscopic equipment. Such a question shows a clear disconnect from a supplier-based environment. My company makes one specific type of product, and as a supplier you have intermittent customers, your mom-and-pop machine shops and aftermarket consumers, that have "low-standards," if you will. These customers scrape together sales that account for a tiny fraction of our revenue in a given year, on the order of a few hundred thousand dollars . Almost all small suppliers start off in such a market, using their limited manufacturing capabilities and lack of proper certification to please the one-off customers - the research labs and student hospitals, if you will. Sometimes this is enough to grow your capacity to a point where you can afford the next big step, and sometimes additional capital is raised through investors, but one truth remains: the real money is made through the real customers - the multi-billion dollar corporations that account for the majority of the market. Unfortunately, the real customers have higher standards than the one-off customers, and to even be considered as a supplier to the big customers, you must meet certain international standards for quality.
This is the fact that many fail to consider. Being certified to the industry-standard ISO certifications is not a bragging right - it is a REQUIREMENT to even be considered as a supplier when it comes to the big customers. For my company, our millions are made through the aerospace giants of the world, all who require us to be ISO 9001:2008 certified. Receiving and maintaining such certification is incredibly costly and tedious, but without it we would literally not even be considered in the running with the customers who keep our lights on.
What is more, the large customers for specialized products and devices are generally required to diversify their supplier base as to limit their supplier-end risk as a business and to ensure competitive pricing from suppliers. This push for diversification is ongoing and persistent, beneficial both to the customers and the suppliers.
To answer the rhetorical question of "how will this certification impact their ability to penetrate the $100 billion domestic market", my answer is simple. The real customers of any industry, whether it be aerospace, medical, or otherwise, demand certain International Standards for quality (see "ISO"). Such accreditation offers enormous opportunity to capture market share for the exact reasons mentioned. This is not my opinion, this is fact. My company of a few dozen employees thrives in a competitive niche market specifically because we achieved and maintained the Industry Standard quality requirements and, in turn, won sales contracts with the industry giants that account for millions a year in revenue.
As to anyone who doubts Solos' business approach of using their meager revenue and stock offerings to obtain the capital and quality of business necessary to achieve international quality standards, I pose the following question. What business owner with a competent understanding of their market would not strive to meet the requirements necessary to secure the revenue that is offered by the high-end customers?
Just as I have done by investing in Solos' potential, Solos has invested in their potential to secure a portion of the medical device market by achieving the qualifications necessary to supply to the industry giants. Call it whatever you want, this is what is unfolding, and I for one could not agree more with their approach.
GLTA Blueskies
