Maybe once you are a famous writer like Seth Godin you can get away with almost anything. I read this book and was completely lost. Out of respect for Seth, I read it again and made some progress. My interest was sparked because it looks just like the picture that Amnon drew (http://think-smarter.com/rosen_sharma/2007/04/10/if-they-complain-build-it/).
There are some golden nuggets in the book which get lost in the narrative. The one which I agree with is that well rounded is not the way to being the best. I come from India where there is a large middle class … I think of it more like a frozen layered cake. If you are well rounded it will take you a long time to reach the top if you ever break though. However if you are laser focused for the first few years of your life you can cut through the cake and once on the top can open the umbrella and become as widespread and well rounded as you want. First you got to win at something and be the best at it.
June 21st, 2007
I recently attended a talk today about AIM, from a CEO who had gone through the process of listing there. It was very educational, here are some of the insights:
Basic Understanding
- To list on AIM you need to hire a banker in the UK
- The banker calls fund managers to sell your stock to them
- only funds, not inidividuals can buy or sell stock on AIM
- there is no “exchange” to match buyer to seller, if a fund wants to sell the stock in your company they contact your banker who has to find another buyer
- Thus once you are listed you have to retain a banker permanently (yearly fee)
Subtleties
- Bankers dont underwrite the offering, the cost of the roadshow etc is borne by the company without guarantee of listing (can be close to 1M)
- You can list without any revenue, but need to give clear guidance of milestones and then stick to them
- The CEO/Management team has to constantly sell to fund managers as it is incumbent on the company thru the banker to find a new buyer if existing shareholder wants to sell (or the share price can drop)
- US fund managers can’t buy or sell funds on the AIM market
- Funds which buy your stock dont have any representation on the board
It is an interesting vehicle to raise money for a private company, but it has its own nuances.
June 9th, 2007
