411 Insurance

For diversified investors, the IPO is the holy grail of all investments. Why? Because of the higher yields involved with a company with a great concept that is about to step onto the scene and change the order of an industry. Many times the investors are able to take advantage of a deeply discounted stock price compared to the retail price available to the mainstream.

For those who have experienced the power of an IPO, the next natural stage is the Pre IPO. A Pre IPO investment a few months before the company is issued a trading symbol is the creme de la creme of all stock investments. Many times investors are offered warrants for discounted future offerings with the company; the stock is typically discounted deeply to the IPO price, which in turn is discounted to the retail price. The investment mechanism is typically done via Private Placement Memorandum using rule exemption 506 of Regulation D.

Investors should make sure that the PCAOB audit and S1 authoring are underway or completed before going into an investment. The company should offer potential investors a package which includes a solid business plan, PPM stating risks and a valuation from which the share price originates. The share price will come from the valuation, number of authorized shares, total amount of capital to be raise pre public etc.

Another deal aspect to pay close attention to before investing is the market creation process put in place by the company. A strong Investor Relations and publicity campaign is crucial to generating interest in an IPO and this strategy should be put in place during the company’s comments phase with the SEC (if it is an OTCBB listing the company is initiating).

A solid investor relations campaign will consist of, at a minimum, two press releases per week, phone room assistance to introduce the company to the broker and investment market, SEO campaign, iTunes company and industry position downloads for interested parties, webinars, investor newsletter as well as radio, TV and university expert panel interviews and other public interactions to make the public aware of the company, product/service and stock symbol.

The above is just a Pre IPO investor introduction to help seasoned investors with their due diligence process and portfolio diversification.

Learn more about Taking Your Company Public. Find out how to Raise Capital Fast by taking your company public

I am constantly getting calls from CEOs of public companies whose stock has plummeted to the point of no rebound. When I ask them what promotional or investor relations strategies they have in place to support their per share price goal, there is always silence on the other end of the line. It’s shocking to me that a well pedigreed executive can move up through the corporate ranks from executive to VP and to CEO and not have a clue as to how to run a public company properly.

For executives reading this, you obviously are doing the necessary due diligence required to initiate a strategic plan and keep your volume trading. As a global strategies consultant, typically, by default, I have to take a company public in order for them to meet their growth requirements as designated by their board of directors.

If you are going public on the OTCBB (Over The Counter Bulletin Boards) for example, you’ll want to start general corporate branding pretty heavy when the S1 comments stage is completed. You’ll want to take advantage of viral media such as but not limited to: video, unique article submission, press releases, social and news bookmarking and don’t forget the Linkedin, Myspace, Facebook and Twitter. The collective combination of promotional genres in the above will give you the initial foundation to start your Investor Relations campaign post public.

Keep in mind you want to promote your company in a general fashion as opposed to stepping into a gray area which the SEC would consider outside of securities compliance. Next, about two weeks after your viral crusade has been initiated, phase two would be using traditional tactics for publicity, mainly TV, radio and inter industry periodicals. These promotional mediums should ring with the ‘expert’ theme. You’ll have your publicist solicit the editor, writer, journalist, etc and get you a seat on an expert panel to discuss the hot topics that have to do with your industry. It’s not a company advertisement, it’s better. You are demonstrating your high level of expertise and throughout the gig they are referring to you in name and as the CEO of XYZ Inc.

Now, after your market maker has filed form 211 and FINRA has issued a trading symbol, this is when the real work begins. Don’t hire an investor relations service, hire a full service IR strategies consultant. It may sound like the same thing but believe me, the difference is night and day. A strategist has a massive portfolio of contacts to create your market quick and get your stock trading. You don’t want pump and dump, email/newsletter promoters, if you hire one then you’re a chump and you deserve the failure that you’re sure to experience. You’ll be sucked into the black hole of no return faster than you can say pink sheets (By the way, if you’re going public don’t even waste your time with pink sheets. Serious investors will never buy and hold that Wild West stock).

The basic strategy your consultant will put in place will be a combination of phone room promotion to market makers and investors to announce your stock and give verbal presentations in a non pushy manner (with a phone room you just want to have a friendly voice that gives free information and then tell them to check out the stock and call their broker or you can introduce them to one but don’t hire a boiler room as that’s the kiss of death to any new public entity). Next you want to email announcements to your pre public investor base and industry insiders to get the hype machine going. Get people talking about your stock, potential acquisitions, your new product or service, a new strategic partner you’ve signed with, a new distribution channel, anything, just get them talking about you. You’ll also want to keep your viral and traditional publicity mechanisms in place. Write press releases announcing the above and have your consultant and/or publicist start pushing them to major journals, newspapers and high traffic blogs and websites and always make yourself available for comments and/or questions. With all of your promotional properties you must get in the habit of collecting email addresses and contact info and on a weekly basis a chunk of your advertising budget must go toward snail-mail post card promotion, phone call meet and greets and email updates.

The above is a very basic intro or Investor Relations 101 to help you start putting a strategy together or at the very least it will help you interview investor relations strategies consultants in an intelligent and informed manner.

Want to find out more about Taking Your Company Public, then visit Belvedere Global Strategies Corporation’s site on how to choose between a Reverse Merger or S1 Filing for the best results

categories: Taking Your Company Public,Reverse Merger,S1 Filing,Belvedere Global Strategies Corporation,James Scott,direct filing,s1 registration,taking a company public,take your company public

If you are taking your company public, expanding your corporation, doing in house cleanup to get rid of dead weight or just filling a C level or VP level position at your company your hiring method should be clear, concise and strategic. You need to take into consideration every intricacy that the individual being interviewed has to be exposed. You need to pay attention to what is said, not said, gestures, verbal intonations and the overall presence of the individual. Here are a few things to take into consideration when hiring an executive. These are elements outside of the resume.

First look at the obvious. Evaluate the overall attire of the individual pay attention to his suit, dress shirt, tie and dress shoes and even the shoe laces. Are his suit, shirt and tie crisp, conservative and pressed? Are his shoes shined, scuff free and are his shoe laces in good condition? When he crosses his legs and his socks are exposed what is the condition of his socks? These things may seem artificial, pretentious and pointless but keep in mind, you are hiring the appearance of the individual as well and most times the clothing condition and selection tell us a lot about the subconscious activity and mindset of the individual. Do they pay close attention to detail? Do they have a clean presence? These things are ‘tells’ every time the executive stands before a client or panel.

Next the interview, obviously you’ve gone over their resume and checked references before you even bring them in for a serious interview so let’s go past the general inquires that go along with an executive interview. You need to evaluate their intellectual and emotional fitness by getting right to the point. How much do they know about your company? Finding out how much they’ve researched the company will demonstrate their level of motivation in becoming part of the team with a focus on contribution. The strongest candidate will come into an interview ready to define their role and express the realities of what they bring to the table in the form of contacts and intellectual capital.

Ask them, in their own words, from their own research, where they see the company in 5 years with them in a leadership position. Ask them to give an example of 5 to 10 strategic alliances they have planned for the company and what that will contribute to the bottom line of the company. What expansion experience do they have? Ask them what makes a company in your position better or worse for being public or private and have them elaborate. Ask them to critique the top executives of the company and how they would reorganize the company if they had their way. Get past the artificial nature of educational pedigree and ask them about their professional pedigree and how it has prepared them to join your corporate team.

Now during this process pay close attention to their physical gestures and take notes. As you’re asking them questions look for their subconscious movements that they are using to communicate. Look for gestures that demonstrate confidence, arrogance, insecurity. Are they sitting back in their chair when they are talking (if so they are too comfortable, a qualified executive will be sitting up straight without letting his back rest on the chair, you on the other hand should be relaxed and sitting back). Are their legs crossed? Are they using their hands? Is their forehead crinkled or calm? Are they making use of a strong vocabulary that can strengthen their presentation etc?

Hiring the proper executive for a specific role in the company can be challenging but using the process above to help weed through the poor candidates will help you in securing the perfect candidate.

Want to find out more about Taking Your Company Public, then visit Belvedere Global Strategies Corporation’s site on how to choose between a Reverse Merger or S1 Filing for the best results

categories: Taking Your Company Public,Reverse Merger,S1 Filing,Belvedere Global Strategies Corporation,James Scott,direct filing,s1 registration,taking a company public,take your company public