SLI Systems

[CJ]

From the article it would appear that Sam Morgan is putting in another $1m. He is obviously confident in the company.

Him throwing in another mil is like me investing $1k.

Having said that, it is good to see him doubling down.

The thing I dont like about these small tech companies (SNK is the same) is they create this 'great technology' then target Japan and Brazil (or Indonesia). Contrast that to XRO or DIL who create great technology and take on the US and UK. Not saying they wont be successful but it just seems like they are trying to avoid proper competition but in the mean time, makes it hard for investors to analyse competition as I cant read japanese or spanish (?). However, I can read techcrunch who frequently mentions XRO and its competitors.

[Banksie]

Him throwing in another mil is like me investing $1k.

Having said that, it is good to see him doubling down.

The thing I dont like about these small tech companies (SNK is the same) is they create this 'great technology' then target Japan and Brazil (or Indonesia). Contrast that to XRO or DIL who create great technology and take on the US and UK. Not saying they wont be successful but it just seems like they are trying to avoid proper competition but in the mean time, makes it hard for investors to analyse competition as I cant read japanese or spanish (?). However, I can read techcrunch who frequently mentions XRO and its competitors.

It seems they already have a presence in US and the UK. I only skimmed the investment document quickly but it appears that North America account for 62% of their customers and the UK 17%. But yeah, why the interest in expanding to Brazil and Japan, do they feel they have already reached the limit for acquiring new customers in the US and UK?
(source: http://www.sli-systems.com/sites/all...-statement.pdf).

Off topic - but I don't believe SNK are a technology company. They use technology to deliver advertising on the mobile platform - but they have not created any IP of their own. As I see them they are a marketing and media company in the technology field.

[CJ]

It seems they already have a presence in US and the UK.

Based on a 1 minute skim of their prospectus they do look impressive - over 375 customers (including big brands) all over world.

The key thing to look at would be the Growth/profitablility trade off. XRO have been very clear on their target (though this came a few years after IPO) which makes it easy to monitor progress.

This looks far more advanced than SNK. Would be interesting to see if Moosie has done any Fundimental analysis on the two or is just relying on TA for his buy into SNK.

[Schrodinger]

Agree with Sparky on this one due to the lack of profitability.

I will look more closely into the offer document and try and find out why they arent making money.

[Banksie]

I just read an article saying that the company has been in profit

- well they reported $92,000 profit for 2012 but 2011 was a $158,000 loss.

[Banksie]

So this cat, clown and a moose walk into a forum....

[CJ]

Also it is clear XRO has the potential to get a share of a very big market? I wonder what SLI's potential is in that respect?

Isn't it competting against Google (search representing the 'S', and to a slightly lesser extent the 'L' which is learning(?)). If so the market is very big but so is the competition.

[Banksie]

It was competing against Google - but not the product we usually see but rather Google Commerce Search which is a paid service available to online retails. The good news for SLI is Google are discontinuing the product.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/sli-sy...130000986.html

Shaun Ryan's critique of Google Commerce Search gives some insight into how these products differ from the run of the mill Google search.

http://www.sli-systems.com/blog/2009...-critique.html

[Schrodinger]

...and thats pretty much it. I dont know if they are a SME play like Xero. From what I can read this is a no. Also can you purchase the product online for a small monthly subscription and without the need to talk to anyone in the company therefore making customer acquisition easy?

That is the Xero model and why it is very scaleable. From a brief look at the company this doesnt look as attractive as Xero. Due to the revenue model, I would be more comfortable with them making increasing profits like Diligent does.

[Banksie]

Regarding SLI's target market this independent review seems to indicate it will only be the bigger online merchants who can afford it.

http://www.practicalecommerce.com/ar...uperior-Search

"I believe that SLI's search solution constitutes one of the best products I've ever reviewed, but they are not for everyone. Unfortunately, price, which varies by traffic, bandwidth, and other factors, will mean that the solution is too expensive for some small online merchants. But I would encourage every online seller to at least contact SLI. In many cases the company will even provide a free month-long trial, which is no small thing since the solution is semi-custom."