Taking Your Company Public: How To Evaluate A Consulting Firm

On April 10, 2010, In business for sale, By James Scott

Seriously, sometimes I have to step back and laugh when I see company owners trying to pre-qualify consulting firms to take them public. I just stand there and scratch my head in disbelief when they think they are asking all the ‘right’ questions when all they are doing is setting themselves up for failure.

I recently had a company who claimed to have investors who wanted to invest in pre ipo deals. For a few weeks these guys called with a million questions and demands, most of which were contrary to basic SEC regulations and compliance. I tried to set them straight but they just didn’t get it. These guys who called themselves consultants really had no clue as to what they were doing and the questions they were asking me about my firm in order to qualify our firm were completely off base and were actually laughable. It was irritating at the time, now I just sit back and laugh as I chalk it up as another lesson learned and another relationship that fortunately did not come to fruition.

Here are some realities to consider when talking to a consulting firm to take your company public. First, no consulting group acts alone, instead they play quarterback or orchestrator to facilitate a smooth, stress free process. Most consulting firms that take companies public on the OTCBB will have securities attorneys on staff for the s1 filing, third party SEC approved auditors for the SEC audit, multiple market makers to choose from for the filing of the 15c211 and scores of Investor Relations contacts for post public market creation.

When doing due diligence on an Edgar link for S1’s in process you’ll only see the attorney information and the auditor. The Consultant has to be content to stand in the background making the entire process function and succeed with virtually no public claim or credit. If you’re doing due diligence on a consulting firm it’s more important to find out how vast their network is as opposed to being the predictable intellectual midget who will look up the consultants previous stock symbols and call the company and expect to miraculously get on the phone with a person who knows the consultant first hand. The mere thought is so ridiculous it’s redundant to even bring it up but this is something that uninformed people actually do as part of what they consider ‘due diligence’.

All you need to do is this: Talk to the senior partner at the consulting firm. Establish whether or not they are full service. Gain an understanding for how long it takes them to get you from S1 to trading symbol. If you want to do some real due diligence, find out about their post public investor relations strategy so your company not only goes public but can stay public and profitable.

Consulting firms who take companies public on the OTCBB are a small part of the whole but without them, the transaction couldn’t happen. They are the 24/7 worker bees doing the impossible for the ungrateful….until the symbol is achieved and the stock is trading properly, they you get a pat on the back and, “hey thank you so much for your hard work…what was your name again?” And I always respond, “you can call me whatever you want but on my Share Certificates you can put Princeton Corporate Solutions”.

OK, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration, of course they are going to remember my name but the reality is, solid due diligence by a company wanting to go public starts with a general evaluation of the consulting firm, some basic technical questions and then getting to the root and depth of their contact base to make sure your going public efforts are fast and smooth.

Go Public With Your Company, call Princeton Corporate Solutions at 267-233-0183 Take Your Company Public the easy way!

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Over The Counter Bulletin Board – Here Is Some Info You Must Know!

On April 5, 2010, In business, By James Scott

Why Are You Taking Your Company Public? Evolve Or Die! As the owner of a corporate consulting firm that takes companies public and steps into public entities with a turnaround team to fix dying companies, there are two realities of corporate strategies that ring true in any and all industries when it comes to creating successful companies and those realities are: few things work and nothing works for long. Evolve or die, the decision is yours. What works today didn’t work ten years ago and won’t work ten years from now.

Promotional strategies, inter industry alliances, legal loopholes and board member’s bartering chips are forever spinning and mutating and like Zen seem to change shape just as the issues that make a strategies template seem to be defined and duplicatable.

Constantly update your publicity technologies. Always get the opinion of different peer groups who represent polar opposites in the market place before you roll out a new product or service. Before you make a decision have a backup plan and a backup plan to that plan. Have your CFO’s work audited by outside sources. Run credit checks on executives before they are promoted and find out if they are trying to live above their means, if so, they have the ‘grass is greener’ disease and will never be satisfied and will always be looking for a better deal. Employees like this can’t be trusted to help carry a company.

If you are a business owner, your job should be finding someone more qualified than you to run and grow your company. Always have multiple streams of revenue. If you are in the service industry, diversify by offering some products. If you are in the product industry (retail type) partner with some service oriented companies to earn commissions off of their efforts and your customer base.

Always be on a lookout for strategic partners and never be afraid to network. Keep updating your business plan. When raising capital stay out of debt and offer equity instead and when you offer equity in return for investment, pick inter industry alliances to raise capital from. Use a publicist and publicize everything! If you can’t afford a publicist put out press releases keeping your industry and potential clients informed of what you’re doing.

The above is just a little advice that I give to each client before initiating the structuring process of a Pre IPO. These realities will hold true today, next year and as long as commerce exists.

For Corporate Turnaround Services or Investor Relations and Publicity, call Princeton Corporate Solutions at 267-233-0183Take Your Company Public the easy way!

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Take Your Company Public: Pros And Cons Of Reverse Mergers And Direct Filings

On April 4, 2010, In business, By James Scott

Now more than ever public shell predators are out in full force taking advantage of CEOs and corporate executives who need to go public in order to gain more influence in the marketplace, raise capital, grow through acquisition and bring on prize executives with share ownership.

Many uninformed board members and ‘C’ level executives who take the route of a reverse merger fall prey to shell selling hoodlums who retain a sizable portion of the company after transfer as well as cover up liens, free trading shares and other issues that will have a tragic effect on the new owners of this shell that will soon crumble after the merger is complete.

Another issue that reverse mergers have is that the original investors in the entity want out and the second the stock price achieves even the most modest of gains it will virtually immediately plummet due to the original shareholders liquidation of their shares. This liquidation will typically take the company into the black hole of no return as the share price will never rebound and the once profitable company is now a tumbling house of cards.

I’m not saying that reverse mergers can’t work. There are some solid firms out there who set up quality shells for reverse merger activity but before proceeding with a merger, one should contract with a solid corporate strategies consultant for references and industry insider information.

Customized filings, on the other hand, have fewer draw backs but there are still problem areas. In taking a company public via direct filing one should choose a firm with a solid track record for rapid completion of the s1 comments phase and FINRA approval. The third party audit should be done by a firm proven in completing this solution in a timely manner. Most lawyers and consulting firms take 10 to 12 months to take a corporation public on the OTCBB. But there are some elite, turn-key ‘Go Public’ facilitators that do so many of these transactions that it will only take 3 to 4 months for the entire process.

At the end of the day both reverse mergers into public shells and customized, direct filings are viable options for achieving a public trading symbol and raise capital and all the other pros and cons that come and go with having a public entity but before moving forward one should be well read and in the know of the good, the bad and the ugly with both routes.

Go Public With Your Company, call Princeton Corporate Solutions at 267-233-0183 Take Your Company Public the easy way!

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Over The Counter Bulletin Board – Here Are The Answers!

On March 27, 2010, In business, By James Scott

What Is the Process Of Taking A Company Public? Here Are The Answers!

Going public can make or break a company. As long as you are prepared it can be the biggest blessing ever bestowed on your company. Understanding the process can help you decide if this is a direction you’d like to take. Here is the process:

First you’ll need corporate structuring to create a business model that is conducive to raising capital and increasing investor confidence so you’ll need to take a long hard look at your ‘C’ level executives and their educational and professional pedigree and track record, your board of directors capabilities and abilities to contribute with capital connections and strategic alliances.

Second you’ll need to write a business plan that take into consideration a strong business model, financial projections that will stand up to the scrutiny of your SEC auditor and investors who have their investments audited by legal counsel and accountants while simultaneously painting a picture of a solid and viable, and yes, recession proof business model.

Third you will need a PPM to break your company up into shares to distribute to seed capital investors and stay within the SEC Regulation D requirements.

Fourth you’re ready to file your S1 and get into the comments stage. Be prepared to answer questions and be patient. The SE needs to understand your business enough to approve it. Some of their comments are pretty strange but it is what it is. Your best bet is to have a good securities attorney file for you.

Fifth you need your third party audit. This can be a large financial undertaking if your books are a mess and a good auditor can be in and out in around a month.

Sixth after the SEC approval you’ll have your market maker file your 15c211 with FINRA to get your approval and stock symbol.

Lastly, you’ll need a strong post public investor relations strategy to induce investment and calm down those who want to sell their stock. A good IR strategy will also bring into account massive amounts of traditional and viral publicity.

For Corporate Turnaround Services or Investor Relations and Publicity, call Princeton Corporate Solutions at 267-233-0183Take Your Company Public the easy way!

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Taking A Company Public: The Key To Raising Fast Capital For Pre Public Companies

On March 21, 2010, In business, By James Scott

Selling Shareholder Offering: The Key To Raising Fast Capital For Pre-Public Companies. As a consultant who has many companies public on the OTCBB (Over The Counter Bulletin Boards), consulted on even more and turned around and structured more companies I can even count, there are a few common threads inherent in all of them.

Most of the companies pursuing capital from angel investors, private investors, private equity firms or small groups of professionals looking for a quick in and out situation with rapid capitalization did three things that made all the difference in streamlining their raise.

First the executives structured their entity to attract investors which by default strengthened their corporate infrastructure. Now they are proposing investment opportunities from more of a position of strength.

Second they chose a team (in these cases they chose our consulting firm) with a proven track record of success with organizing companies for acquisition, merger and taking companies public.

The third element that is common in most successful enterprises which are seeking a first round of seed capital to fund their ‘going public’ ambitions is demonstrating confidence to the investor with a “selling shareholder offering”. Obviously this last element tests the skill of the consultants going back and forth with the SEC during the comments stage but this demonstrates confidence and organization by the company wishing to raise capital.

A ’selling shareholder offering’ tells the investor (if not purely in the initial documents then in the phone conferences leading up the a check being cut) that the company has an organized pre public and post public investor relations strategy, general corporate publicity strategy and a market maker that’s built to last (mostly the former than the later). By offering seed investors the ability for massive profitability by buying your seed shares for fifty cents with a public offering price anticipated at $2.00. What real investor would turn this down?

Offer your seed investors an ‘easy in, quick out’ funding option and watch them swarm to your offering in droves. Let these investors create your float and let your company’s performance and hardcore investor relations take care of the rest!

For Corporate Consulting or Invest Seed Capital In Pre-IPO Companies, call Princeton Corporate Solutions at 267-233-0183Take Your Company Public the easy way!

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