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To: TheSlowLane who wrote (8)5/16/2012 6:18:07 PM
From: Hawkmoon   of 51
 
Had a good conversation with my friend the other day when he was in town.

Seems that Forensic departments around the country are seeking him company out for demonstrations of his forensic sampling technology.

Very strange turn of events.. Originally designed by my friend's father to advance food safety, it seems that the primary niche market is turning out to be DNA recovery from surfaces where current technology fails (swabs, etc)..

Seems that the logic is as such.. When CSI personnel are working a case, if they cannot gather sufficient evidence that case stops. Therefore, there is an incentive to have the best technology available.

But with food safety, it's the opposite. If the sampling technology is "too good" and finds pathogens and/or other contamination, the total operation stops until everything is sterilized... Therefore, food safety will be unlikely to accept this technology until it's mandated by law/regulation.

Hawk

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To: Hawkmoon who wrote (14)5/16/2012 8:50:33 PM
From: TheSlowLane   of 51
 
I love it when a plan comes together.

Is the company profitable? It sounds like business is good. The only food safety company I ever looked at (years ago) appears to have subsequently gone into retirement:

electrolyzercorp.com 

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To: TheSlowLane who wrote (15)5/16/2012 9:44:09 PM
From: Hawkmoon   of 51
 
Well, it's a major change of direction for them.. They had put a lot of emphasis on approaching the food distributors, who all had high praise for their technology, but never seemed to come through with the bucks..

This move towards Forensics is recent (about 6 months old) and holds a lot of promise.

They aren't profitable yet, and marketing costs are pretty high due to travel expenses demo'ing the tech..

But from what my friend, the CEO, stated, it's going from "push" to "demand". Reps from Forensic labs are now contacting him, unsolicited, and asking for demos, and there a few units out there being tested by various labs with very positive results.

The police labs have to plan their budgets well in advance and make strong arguments for why they need this tech, so it's hoped that within a year they will reach a tipping point towards break-even to profitability.

They are currently doing a private offering, in which our family took part to add on to what we already own. So you would have to contact the CEO for more info at their Utah office.

m-vac.com 

m-vac.com 

I pretty much follow their activities on their FB page:

facebook.com 

And certainly nothing wrong with discussing Electrolyzer corp. with him.. They already provide a proprietary sampling solution for the M-Vac, and part of the warranty requires that customers only use that product through it. But there might be some areas where they can work together. One never knows.. right?

Hawk

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To: Hawkmoon who wrote (16)5/24/2012 7:14:49 PM
From: Hawkmoon   of 51
 
My friend just told me that a director of a state crime lab wanted to see if it was "OK" for him to invite a bunch of lab managers from various counties in his state to an upcoming demo..

I told him.. "Build a better mouse trap... " (y'all know the rest.. ;0)

It's amazing what word of mouth marketing can do when you're talking to the right customers.

Product eventually sells itself..

Hawk

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To: Hawkmoon who wrote (17)6/23/2012 1:00:08 AM
From: Hawkmoon   of 51
 

My friend wrote up an article for "foodquality.com". Would appreciate feedback that can be sent to him:

foodquality.com 

Also, changing standards on E. Coli testing emphasis in light of recent outbreaks:

foodquality.com 

Hawk

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To: Hawkmoon who wrote (18)7/19/2012 9:10:58 PM
From: Hawkmoon   of 51
 
My friend's company got a nice write up in "Evidencemagazine" regarding a recent case where their M-VAC sampling technology obtained a DNA sample from a victim's panties, allowing potential identification of the perpetrator where other methods had failed.

evidencemagazine.com 

Hawk

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To: Hawkmoon who wrote (19)9/20/2012 9:55:53 PM
From: Hawkmoon   of 51
 
The FSIS (Food Safety and Inspection Service) is implementing a new protocol for it's verification testing program for beef trimmings in order to better detect E. Coli.

meatpoultry.com 

This has been a long-standing issue for the company our family has invested in, Microbial Vac.. Existing regulations do not require the best sampling technology, and meat processors have been hesitant to implement Microbial Vac's technology as it's a far superior sampling technology. Which means it's able to better detect pathogens like E. Coli. Better detection would likely result in increased shut down of processing lines for sterilization (loss of $$$). This means that, while processors recognize M-Vac's potential, they will not voluntarily implement it.

Thus, any tightening of regulatory testing standards increases the odds that M-Vac's technology will become the new testing standard.

It's already making important inroads into DNA detection for forensic laboratories, who MUST have the best sampling technology in order to further their criminal investigations.

Hawk

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To: Hawkmoon who wrote (20)10/25/2012 6:49:09 AM
From: Hawkmoon   of 51
 
The little start-up we're backing just made a big hit on the Salt Lake City news..

Word is that the Forensics guys are drooling over getting these systems for their Crime Scene toolkits..

ksl.com 

Hawk

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To: Hawkmoon who wrote (21)10/25/2012 7:20:04 AM
From: TheSlowLane   of 51
 
Very nice! Is the current cost of the product higher than it would be with volume sales? If one of the target markets is law enforcement I would think that in an environment of tightening budgets cost could be an issue. One of the things that I have found to be most difficult for a small company is attracting top-notch sales talent. It is often a case of chicken-and-egg where the company is not big enough to afford the guy they need to grow the company to the size were it's big enough to afford the guy they need. If the technology is ready to go then it comes down to an execution play where operations, sales and marketing will be crucial, imo. Great to get that kind of press!

Coincidentally, my dna sequencing company also got written up this month, but I think the article is subscription only...

ZS Genetics Shows Single Base ID by Electron Microscopy

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To: TheSlowLane who wrote (22)10/25/2012 9:42:13 AM
From: Hawkmoon   of 51
 
Is the current cost of the product higher than it would be with volume sales?

I'm sure that's an issue, since I'm sure their fabricator/manufacturer would likely reduce their costs as orders increase.

But M-Vac will always have a leasing option available to those LEAs that lack the financial resources of a full purchase.

But one also has to look at the total picture when it comes to financial costs.. How much does it cost in investigative time, as well as testing, and attorney's time and litigation costs when sub-standard sampling technology is utilized that fails to yield the necessary evidence to obtain an indictment and conviction?

How much does it cost because a perpetrator is not identified and is free to commit another crime?

Penny wise is pound foolish when it comes to forensic crime scene investigation.. And my friend indicated to me that Prosecutors are showing increasing interests, as they are the ones who ultimately have to decide how their litigation budgets are spent. The stronger their cases are, the less they have to spend putting these thugs away (or preferably to the chair)..

Btw, here's a great Bloomberg article on the other market that M-Vac is vying for..

bloomberg.com 

Hawk

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