My involvement with OTC companies

I wrote in my last entry that we got our Notice of Effectiveness from the SEC a couple of weeks ago, making Platinum Studios a publicly-trading company on the OTC Bulletin Board.  Platinum represents the 9th company I have been involved with since 2003 to go out to the public market via the OTCBB, although it's really the first company where I have taken a senior management position actively involved in the day-to-day operations.  I was interim CEO for the very first company, XsunX, Inc., back in 2003, until we brought in a full-time CEO and I moved up to the Board Chairman position.

I have taken Board seats for three public companies prior to Platinum: XsunX (XSNX), MachineTalker, Inc. (MTKN), and Cereplast, Inc. (CERP). I resigned from the Boards of Xsunx and Machine Talker in 2006, when I took on the role of President for Platinum and I resigned from the Board of Cereplast this past week, just after getting our notification from the SEC. I have heard mixed reactions to those resignations, although mostly the comments have been negative. My reasons for resigning are obviously personal. Mostly, though, Board positions, especially for early-stage companies, can be time-consuming. At least they are for me. I don't take those positions lightly and I tend to get somewhat immersed in the responsibilities. As my workload has increased at Platinum, my ability to serve these other companies (at least at the level I demand of myself) has diminished proportionately. I am still a major shareholder in all three of the aforementioned companies, holding over 1,000,000 shares in each, so obviously I am a supporter of their efforts. You could say I'm "long" on them all - meaning I'm interested in the long-term stock performance.

All companies go through the same life-cycle: birth, growth, expansion, maturation, recession, and either rebirth or death. Boards often bring in CEOs who have an expertise in managing companies through these various stages. Back in the late 1990's, George Fisher was hired by Kodak to turn around that struggling behemoth after performing miracles at Motorola. He spent a few years spearheading cutbacks, layoffs and a corporate restructuring - because that was what he was an expert at. Most companies who can recognize that different leaders need to emerge during different stages of their company's life-cycle give themselves a better chance of adapting and surviving. Boards of Directors are no different. I consider myself to be well-versed in the early-stage efforts and I consider myself to be an entrepreneur.  I also have an investor base of several hundred people who have seen tremendous returns with almost every company I have been involved in.  

I feel I can add tremendous value to companies as they emerge from their early stages and launch themselves on the open market - and it almost doesn't matter what business the company is in because the needs at this time are basically the same. Once the companies start to hit their stride and begin to execute on their business plans, they need Board members who are experts in the field of interest and/or can bring specific growth strategies. At that point for the companies mentioned above, it was a good time for me to step down and put my efforts where they can best be utilized.

The exception with Platinum Studios is I have enough experience in the entertainment industry to want to stay around for quite some time to help drive the company forward. I want to see us produce feature films, television programs, bestselling graphic novels, establish an unprecedented online experience and basically become the next Disney. Do I need to mention that Disney has a $58 Billion market cap? That's Billion with a "B"!! Even if we're 1% of Disney, that puts us at a $580 Million market cap. I'll take that any day. Now that I've reduced my Board activities from all other companies, I am going to focus my efforts on making that happen. I think our investors will be pleased with that focus and that kind of return.

Cereplast on "The Green"

Robert Redford is supporting a series on his Sundance Channel that is dedicated to companies, issues, ideas and efforts in the new "green" movement, aptly titled "The Green", which is set to premiere tomorrow night at 9pm. Sponsored by Lexus and Smith Barney, the series will explore everything from global warming and alternative fuels to food choices and city planning, all of which will help make our planet a better place to live. While not complete, the website gives a lot of information about the people behind the effort around the globe and the companies dedicated to that effort: www.sundancechannel.com/thegreen. Having a force like Robert Redford and his foundation behind this series will surely get the attention of many!

I am also thrilled to report that Cereplast, Inc. will be featured in an upcoming episode of "The Green", with a projected air date of June 19. From the press announcement: In “Big Ideas for a Small Planet: Paper or Plastic,” the United States Post Office teams up with William McDonough to develop a “cradle to cradle” policy that will reduce the USPS’s environmental impact; Frederic Scheer of Cereplast creates biodegradable containers made from corn and potato starch; and the designers at Ford present a tour of the recyclable Model U, a concept car that embodies the “cradle to cradle” principle with its hydrogen fuel cell supercharged engine featuring high fuel efficiency and recyclable or biodegradable parts.

Cereplast has been a leader in the biodegradable food serviceware industry for a few years, making biodegradable resins out of corn, potato and other starches to great success. Cereplast’s products are used to manufacture plastic products that are biodegradable and compostable. This makes them key elements in the fight against global warming and instrumental in the national drive for energy independence. The company’s resins have received strong acceptance from some of the major plastic resin users in the United States including Solo Cup, Duni-Innoware, Genpak, and Alcoa Kama, a division of Alcoa (NYSE: AA).

I am proud to sit on the Board of Directors of Cereplast (www.cereplast.com) and play a role in making this planet a better place for my children and the many generations to follow.

-Brian