Av daily volume 62 thousand, at present 145 thousand. It’s called the Saul affect!!!
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Ok so do your own homework on this name before deciding to invest.
My skepticism meter went up when I saw the company headquartered in Boca Raton, FLA. Let’s just say that I’ve had personal experience with Boca Raton since the 1980’s. I’m not getting into details here, but it’s sort of the Nigeria of the US. Lots of history with penny stocks and pump and dump schemes.
I then looked at who’s holding the stock. Biggest shareholder is a guy named Michael Brauser. He has a personal website. He’s also been chairman of the board of several companies. All very small micro caps with a history of bad reviews and lawsuits. Pump and dump scams. Sometimes the same company that keeps changing its name.
Look up Flint Inc. for one, stock symbol FLNT. I think it was called Convit before that.
I did about 30 minutes of searching Google on one shareholder and found enough dirt to stay away. Haven’t looked at anyone else on the list.
I’d be carful with this one. Sorry Saul. And I could be very wrong about the company, but one player with the most shares at the top of the list has a very checkered past.
TMB
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My skepticism meter went up when I saw the company headquartered in Boca Raton, FLA. Let’s just say that I’ve had personal experience with Boca Raton since the 1980’s. I’m not getting into details here, but it’s sort of the Nigeria of the US. Lots of history with penny stocks and pump and dump schemes.
I really like most of what I see when it comes to Saul’s company selections and cannot thank him and this board enough for a number of companies that I now hold in my portfolio - but as soon as I saw HQ in “Boca Raton” I was taken aback. Its just as TMB says - simply do a search for pump and dump scams Boca Raton.
https://www.google.com/search?q=boca+ratob+pump+and+dump+sch…
Also the CEO is an attorney, odd for a tech company, and engineering is in Seattle - why isn’t HQ in Seattle?
https://workforcenow.adp.com/mascsr/default/mdf/recruitment/…
I hope this works out for everyone but I felt with all the great info I consume on this board I should at least point this out as a potential problem
Frank - see profile for all holdings
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https://www.glancylaw.com/cases-application/case-information…
Sorry it’s Fluent Inc. not Flint.
Not trying to step on toes, just sharing information that I think needs to be shared.
TMB
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In other investment scenarios, I have used search engines to look for user and industry reviews of the product, and employee reviews of the company. Kind of like how many here refer to Gartner reports for our SaaS companies. I couldn’t find anything other than press releases and investor material on Forewarn and Red Violet. Nothing on TrustRadius either.
Perhaps someone knows some real estate people who use the services and can tell you how much it costs and how well it works? Most of the “news” on the company takes the form of “Forewarn partners with so and so to protect realtors from crazies”. I assume that is a background check based on a name and location of someone about to meet an agent in an empty house. Useful service, and yes, it can be used in adjacent worlds. How much, and how easy are they to deal with? My company actually uses “how easy do our customers say we are to deal with” as part of our bonus structure. Its that important.
Disclaimer: I am long RDVT, small amount, based on usefulness of that business idea, growth potential and Tripod’s initial review. And thanks Saul, for all that work you put in.
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So here is a thread to a lawsuit involving Michael Brauser when Fluent Inc. was called Cogint. You can guess why the name change more then once. Many stories I search have been taken down. You see a headline and click on it and it’s marked “expired”.
Bottom line this Michael Brauser is very dirty. I know a couple of dirty guys out there and they have the exact same kind of personal website claiming to be a family man, community member, faith based, very charitable. His is exactly the same as those. Michaelbrauser.com.
As the biggest share holder of RDVT, con artists that tend to work with con artists, again just be careful and at least do your own due diligence.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/cogint-denies-allegations-fou…
TMB
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One of my favourite lines from the VG Capital report:
TLO was put up for sale during the bankruptcy process which sparked an all-out bidding war between several very large competitors, including LexisNexis and TransUnion (TRU). After 20 straight hours of bidding, TRU won the auction with a bid of $154m (LexisNexis was about to up their bid to $180m but got timed out by the attorney overseeing the process).
I’m positive that is all completely verifiable.
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I agree about having concerns with RDVT. Yes, the numbers on RDVT look impressive right now. But the question is, how long is this sustainable? It really depends on how much you trust management, right? There was a stock once discussed on here called Parateum (TEUM). It was a microcap with great numbers too and went on a phenomenal run, until it didn’t. There was a short attack on the stock and it’s now a penny stock which will either be delisted from the Nasdaq or they will have to do a reverse stock split. This reminds me of HMNY which bought MoviePass and also had great numbers and a phenomenal run, until it burst. The CEOs of TEUM and HMNY promoted themselves heavily and the way they did, some of which you can watch on YouTube, now seems like a red flag to me. And by the way, they’ve since deleted some of those videos; I wonder why?
HMNY did several reverse splits, which wiped out every single investor, and HMNY is now in bankruptcy, in case anyone doesn’t know the story. The CEO of HMNY is a serial entrepreneur who bounces between business and business, all of which have failed. He tries to hide from his past, which is getting hard to do with the internet. Serial entrepreneurs are the opposite of what most of the CEOs here, on this forum, represent. A successful serial entrepreneur is a rare exception (Ray Kroc seems to have been one, who successfully capitalized on an opportunity.) I see some of these red flag qualities in common with the CEO of RDVT. He’s got a history with various companies and has been CEO of a company that changed its name and stock ticker. That’s very different than the typical founder-led CEO discussed in this thread. Look at Phunware (PHUN) and Riot Blockchain (RIOT) for other microcaps that had explosive numbers, big runs and a collapse. Those were about blockchain, and the CEO of RDVT has dabbled in blockchain too (see DRGN, Dragonchain); is this a red flag?
I actually had my eye on RDVT, but the CEO has a checkered history. You can watch him on YouTube promoting a different company, and he reminds me of these other microcap CEOs that failed. I’d be very worried that Muddy Waters Research (Carson Block) or Citron Research (Andrew Left) will catch sight of RDVT and attack the stock. RDVT has had an absolutely phenomenal run, from $6 to $26 in about a year! Cramer would call this frothy and would be a seller here, not a buyer (say what you want about him, we’re all human, but he knew the entire market was frothy a few weeks ago, and he’s been proven right). With a stock this high, short sellers will come out like vultures if they see any sign of weakness in RDVT. That’s basically what happened to all the microcaps I’m mentioning. Incidentally, HMNY and RIOT had Florida connections, which is being pointed out as a red flag for RDVT, also located in that area.
Saul, you’ve taught us all so much. You warned us about shady Chinese companies. I feel we must at least try to offer our two cents back, in return. I understand you probably have a smaller number of positions than you feel comfortable with and want to diversify a bit? Why not look back at SQ or SHOP or PAYC or SMAR or EVBG or GH? How about ROKU or TEAM or FIVN or RNG? There are so many solid companies, many of these just had great reports, some even with accelerating numbers. There’s stocks like LVGO, HCAT and AVLR which Bert has written about. MDB is performing like it’s still got a long-term trajectory, even if it’s not the explosive numbers (accelerating numbers can’t last forever, but reliable numbers can continue; isn’t this what Tinker calls CAP? Competitive Advantage Period really seems like a valuable yet elusive metric). Heck, you can’t go wrong with MSFT or ADBE or MA or FB either. I would sleep better in any one of those for a little diversity, rather than a risky microcap (or investment in a different country with external concerns and an economy we may not know much about). But if you did want a little international exposure, there’s STNE, MELI and SE, all which have been discussed here.
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As of 2018, the National Assoc of Realtors said there are 1.3 million Realtors in the US. If every one of them paid the $20/month to check out potential homebuyers, that is a total annual revenue of $312 million. Figure some smaller offices will cheat and one or two will buy subscriptions and check for the others. Drop the TAM in US real estate companies to $200 million. Nice big bump from today for Forewarn.
I was able to find some material on IDI on Glassdoor, but don’t have Glassdoor membership. “Great product, terrible company” is the 2017 review. 2019 reviews were more complimentary.
A 2017 article on a private detective site showed about 10% of 400 surveyed use IDI. Bloomberg has a 2016 story, but again, no membership.
At work. Will look more later.
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Don’t shoot the messenger! The work that was done in the first place to alert us of this Company was as usual impressive but I seem to recall clearly that Saul said this company COULD be a scam and to tread carefully.
I did and made today just over 8% and for that Saul I am very grateful. Less of a trader over the years but with what’s been going on recently I will take it and run for the time being. I mean 8% in a day… yes please! Oh do we all have short memories!
Again, thx Saul
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Hi Saul,
I have to say when I red your end of portfolio review I had a sneaking suspicion that your unnamed starter position was in RDVT. Glad to hear you also find merits in the business model and the company itself. Looking forward to seeing RDVT discussed more on this board!
Tommy
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Why would anyone invest in this company making a measly $5-7 million per quarter with all the shenanigans accompanying it???
Practically everyone is doing 40-60% annual returns in your portfolios with companies doing $100-200 million per quarter.
Why does anyone need this element of risk and unknown when your results without it are so stellar?
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My skepticism meter went up when I saw the company headquartered in Boca Raton, FLA.
I said it was a tiny company and that it could turn out to be a scam. On the other hand I’m willing to risk 1.5% on it not being one. We’ll see.
Saul
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And who’s the name with the second most shares of the stock?
David Dubner. Just looked him up, he’s a real beauty. Attached is a class action suit against another company he and his colleague, none other then Michael Brauser had that went bankrupt in Boca Raton.
These guys are con artists and getting away with it time and time again. Helps to live in Florida where the state or the feds can’t go after your property.
http://securities.stanford.edu/filings-documents/1056/II00_0…
TMB
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TMB,
These guys are con artists and getting away with it time and time again. Helps to live in Florida where the state or the feds can’t go after your property.
Is that why so many scam/shell companies are in Florida? Why Boca Raton precisely? Just where they gather to scam?
I looked at Pareteum, it too is based in Boca Raton FL. That one had a pretty convincing analysis that revealed it as a scam. Pareteum said they signed a big deal with some African telephone company. A Google Maps revealed the address for the telephone company was just some empty 1 room shack.
I said it was a tiny company and that it could turn out to be a scam. On the other hand I’m willing to risk 1.5% on it not being one. We’ll see.
Thats why I always try to exit positions, prior to the SEC entering. Seriously though, I put 2%. Why not, if it works, it will be bags.
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Just wanted to address a few of the concerns brought up so far.
One big concerns seems to be the business location: Boca Raton, FL:
It should be noted that there are several logical reasons why RDVT would chose FL as their HQ.
First, Hank Asher (you’ll know the name if you have looked into RDVT), grew up in South Florida. Asher founded Seisant and TLO in Florida (both of which were acquired).
For good measure, current CEO fo RDVT, Derek Dubner, earned his JD from Florida State University. Also, the current CFO of RDVT, Dan MacLachlan earned his degree from Florida Gulf Coast University. These guys worked with Asher for years up until his death.
It makes sense that these guys are all from FL and would chose to HQ there
Second major concern seems to be Michael Brauser:
I won’t spend anytime attempting to defend the character of Mr. Brauser, as I don’t know him at all personally.
Also, I think that if you have concerns about Brauser who owns about 10% of RDVT, then you should necessarily have concerns about billionaire Phillip Frost, who owns about 21% of RDVT, and was named as an accomplice to Brauser.
Could they be puppeteering this company and waiting for just the right moment to pull the rug out? Sure, but I doubt it. Risking getting your hand caught in the cookie jar twice would be very foolish, especially when they’re already on the SEC’s radar. Also the businesses that Brauser/Frost were accused of pumping and dumping were biotech companies/blockchain, not companies with proven merits (remember this management team has exited 2 businesses with this exact same model). Beyond that, Barry Honig, who was named as the ring leader in the pump and dump schemes with Brauser and Frost, has no affiliation with RDVT. Brauser has also stepped down from the board at RDVT, but still works with the company in a consultative role.
Do your own due diligence.
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So just get out before the SEC comes knocking. Very interesting investment strategy. No “socially responsible” criteria there.
All I can say is, in light of this new information, I will not be buying, not that I was going to before. I hadn’t clarified this wasn’t just a company similar to all those “check the background on ANYONE” sites with s bunch of buzzwords and slick talk to make it sound like they were solving world problems with big data. Pulling from credit bureau and state/local arrest records is not solving “big data” problems.
Seriously it’s hard enough as it is trying to avoid the next NTNX as it is let alone knowingly holding a ticking time bomb.
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I will also add that one of the enticing things about PRTM was its downright cheap stock price, a similar trait many other sketchy companies always shared.
So as long as these concerns linger, I would not expect RDVT to trade at high price multiple valuations.