You're forgetting one thing, they need money to run the business. And all they could drum up was 1/2 million being loaned by the CEO. After the next large raise they do, then we will see what the share price is, but purchasing into a small cap before a capital raise is suicide these days.
BTW, $5 back then is $50 now, a far cry from $3.50. I don't think he could even get $5 now after the split.