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If company A knows that your company is going to be acquired, then they fear that company B, their competitor, is going to get it. Company A says, “Okay, we’re going to make this happen because the consequence of a competitor getting this technology is worse than us spending the money to do it.” There is this degree of... |
Adrian Bye: Can you tell us the numbers or percentages you paid the investment bank? |
John Marshall: All investment banks charge different amounts. A lot of it depends on the structure of the deal. Typically it is somewhere in the range of five, seven, or eight percent of the total sale price. |
Another important detail about the acquisition process is the fact that ClickTracks was not VC-backed. This was instrumental in getting the deal done. The first question acquirers asked was, “Are you VC-backed?” Later they said, “We never would have bought you if you’d been VC-backed because the deal would have been ju... |
Entrepreneurs should think about that when starting their company and determining the company’s structure. If you take VC money, you potentially close the door to an acquisition. Sometimes, an entrepreneur would be better off not taking the money, keeping the company small, quickly turning it into something profitable,... |
Adrian Bye: Tell us about your latest venture, Market Motive. |
John's photoJohn Marshall: The idea for Market Motive came from ClickTracks. Michael Stebbins, who was the vice president of marketing at ClickTracks, and I were discussing a common problem we had with selling the ClickTracks’ products. |
One of the fundamental problems is that the user often lacks enough knowledge of the particular nuances of online marketing to really be able to make the most effective use of the numeric data the program can produce. |
Our solution was to provide a really good foundational training environment to give people this basic knowledge. With the blessing of the new owners of ClickTracks, Michael and I started Market Motive. |
It’s a subscription Web site with premium content. Subscribers have access to training material that covers the whole gamut of online marketing. The content is put together by some of the top minds in the industry. For example, Avinash Kaushik, a leading author and blogger, teaches Web analytics. Brian Eisenberg teache... |
A subscriber has access to all of that training material. They also get a conference call with the faculty where they can ask specific questions and access to an online forum for questions. |
Adrian Bye: What kind of people should sign up for the material? |
John Marshall: We wanted to address the general problem of teaching people how to do really high-quality and effective online marketing. The types of people that do best with this material are new hires at companies, such as someone brought on board to manage online marketing. It works great at agencies that are hiring... |
The material is fairly structured with a step-by-step approach. We provide the training in the form of 30-minute videos that are very topic specific. They’re focused on the ins and outs of actually getting something done, such as building a good campaign. |
Adrian Bye: Where do you see the business going? |
John Marshall: We’re expanding the amount of content. We recently decided to offer certifications. We had a lot of requests from subscribers for that, and we had been thinking of what to do there. We will have some announcements coming out shortly about the certifications, which will be accredited. |
We’ll also be announcing some partnerships with other companies. We’re going to start doing live training, which is all Web-based delivery. We’re not doing physical world training. It’s very difficult to get people to leave the office long enough to attend physical world classes. Our specialty is doing it online. |
Adrian Bye: How do you find your buyers? |
John Marshall: We do a certain amount of advertising, but a lot of it is just word-of-mouth. The members of the faculty are all very well-known; they are all personalities and public speakers in their own right. We also use blog coverage and Public Relations. |
Adrian Bye: Have you considered a lead generation or CPA campaign to drive traffic? |
John Marshall: We have an affiliate program, which is basically a CPA program. We have limited roll out of that, and we’ve been testing it. We’ve learned that lead generation partners work well, but the degree to which we’ve driven that has been small so far. I think that’s going to change. |
Adrian Bye: Is there anything else you’d like to share? |
John Marshall: I do have a recommendation for how entrepreneurs and technologists need to think about hiring developers. If entrepreneurs, who are trying to make progress in the tech world, are not developers, they have a hard time working through the process of hiring and understanding developers. Yet developers are p... |
A Web site I recommend is JoelOnSoftware. It’s an Econ site. If you’re an entrepreneur and you’re trying to build a software product or service, you really need to read what Joel has to say on his site. His advice has really saved me multiple times. |
If you mishandle the development of your product, you really will pay for that long term. Within ClickTracks, we did many things wrong. However, we were right with the architecture of the product and the clarity of thought that went into the design of the products. |
I realized in retrospect that we would have paid a very heavy price if we had not gotten the architecture of that product right from the start. Entrepreneurs may say, “Well, big companies can afford to do that. As small companies, we do not have time to worry about those things.” |
My closing advice is worry about it. You will absolutely pay, and pay big, if you get those things wrong. |
There has been much debate about investment, or more accurately lack of investment, for decommissioning, but as a basis for investment the only relevant fact is that decommissioning is inevitable. We are seeing evidence that North Sea decommissioning and removal is now becoming a reality. However, a clear focus is need... |
There are currently about 700 installations in the North Sea that will, with a few exceptions such as gravity based structures (GBS), require removing (Figure 1). The United Kingdom has the greatest number of jackets (fixed platforms) to be removed. It is generally accepted that the major challenges of platform removal... |
About 12 years ago, the North Sea oil and gas industry began to prepare itself for the expected imminent bonanza of platform "abandonment" (the terminology used at that time). Politicians tried to appease the conflicting requirements of environmentalists who required all platforms to be removed and oil and gas operator... |
In the belief that this new market was about to take off, a number of companies started investing significant funds in developing platform removal concepts. However, the realization that a regulatory framework was needed to address the fate of redundant platforms, plus the prediction of high-removal costs, suddenly cha... |
Decommissioning in the North Sea is in its infancy, with a total of 54 installations removed to date (Figure 3). Of these, the most notable are Brent Spar, Hutton TLP (both floaters) and Maureen (GBS), all of which were UK installations disposed of in Norway. The heaviest lift to date was the Frøy jacket (7,200 tonnes)... |
Figure 4 shows one possible projection of the forecast removal dates for North Sea fixed installations in all sectors. Peaks and troughs have been removed by leveling (normalizing) the peaks. Forecast dates are based on an assumption of a platform being removed one year after it is no longer deemed as commercially viab... |
Several factors will influence the removal date: |
• Oil price; |
• Change of asset owner; |
• New technology to enhance further recovery; |
• Step-out developments using existing offshore infrastructure; and |
• A preference to "mothball" platforms until favorable market conditions prevail (new technology, maturity of the decommissioning market). |
With the exception of a low oil price, all of the above will defer platform removal. Notwithstanding |
this, the following can be expected to be removed soon: |
• Frigg field/MCP01 (Norway/United Kingdom) - Four topsides from gravity-based structures, two steel fixed platforms and one damaged jacket. All of these are deemed as technically challenging. Contract award for removal is planned for last quarter 2004, with work offshore planned from 2005; |
• Ekofisk (Norway/United Kingdom) - Twelve fixed structures and one GBS topside planned for removal from 2006; |
• NW Hutton (United Kingdom) - Large steel platform decommissioned and converted to a normally unattended installation (NUI) with removal expected 2006+; and |
• Thistle, Miller, Murchison - all large steel platforms in the UK North Sea - possible candidates for removal 2008+. |
A number of estimates are available for the value of the decommissioning market, one for the UK market ranges from $14.394 billion. Approximately 50% of this figure is related to the preparation and removal costs for fixed steel platforms. A further observation showed that more than 50% of this cost related to marine a... |
Irrespective of which forecast is correct - there is a major prize to be won for innovation that results in significant cost reductions. One example is the concept of single lift technology driven by a perception that conventional heavy lift vessels are "too expensive, there is not enough competition and not enough ves... |
Factors that contributed to this decision may have been related to the terms and conditions and a failure to understand that contractors, especially in a new industry, cannot accept unlimited commercial risk. |
There lies the second challenge. Unless an operator is prepared to recognise that bringing 'new blood' into the decommissioning market requires more favourable terms to share the risk, then there is a danger that the only competition for platform removal in the North Sea will be Heerema or Saipem. |
Perceived reluctance to invest in decommissioning, coupled with the fact that very few platforms have been removed, means that practical experience in the North Sea is very limited, but there is plenty of experience available from the Gulf of Mexico related to removal of relatively small installations in a less hostile... |
Structural integrity: It may be 25 years or more after installation that a platform is to be removed. During the platform's history many changes may have occurred through modifications and upgrades. The asset owners may have changed several times and, with each change, documents of the platform's earlier history may di... |
Organization: Once a platform has shutdown and hydrocarbons have been removed, it should no longer be considered as an operating platform. It becomes, in effect, a construction site. Consequently the offshore organization and working environment need to reflect this (It should be led by an experienced construction mana... |
Cleaning and waste disposal: A balance should be struck between the extent of cleaning carried out offshore compared with the risk. It is a fundamental consideration that all waste streams are identified, quantified and disposal routes confirmed prior to any attempt to remove them. The North Sea offshore industry is we... |
At last it is obvious that decommissioning and removal is becoming a reality. Finally, it must be recognized that contractors are prepared to take a level of risk commensurate with the rewards as opposed to maximum risk for minimum reward. |
Friday, November 03, 2006 |
Writing poorly: judge requires a make-up assignment |
As a writing teacher, I have to enjoy one judge's creative sanction in a federal case from Iowa. The lawyer had submitted objections to discovery that were "boilerplate, obstructionist, frivolous, overbroad" and generally contrary to law. But as a sanction, the judge required not the payment of money but the writing of... |
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/ ©: Vivek R. Sinha / WWF-Canon |
Across Canada, habitat loss, pollution, invasive species, climate change, and unsustainable harvesting have pushed over 500 species dangerously close to extinction. Species of every description, from lichens to leatherback turtles, whooping cranes to wood bison are at risk. |
Encouragingly, the peregrine falcon and the sea otter have made a comeback. Less positively, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) assessed 18 new species as being at risk of extinction in Canada, including the black-footed albatross, basking shark and eastern flowering dogwood. |
WWF-Canada aims to tackle the global trade in endangered species through our international TRAFFIC program; and reduce the effects of climate change on species, especially on northern species such as polar bears. |
WWF Expert |
/ ©: WWF-Canada |
Peter Ewins |
Senior Officer, Species |
Donate Now |
/ ©: Wil Luiijf / WWF-Canon |
© Wil Luiijf / WWF-Canon |
WWF-Canada helps Mexican wildlife trade inspectors protect crocodiles. |
What does endangered mean? |
Not every species at risk is an “endangered animal.” Officially, threatened species are those listed as Critically Endangered (CR), Endangered (EN) or Vulnerable (VU). |
Practically this means: |
• Critically Endangered (CR): A species facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. |
• Endangered (EN): A species considered to be facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild. |
• Vulnerable (VU): A species considered to be facing a high risk of extinction in the wild. |
View the full list of |
WWF’s priority species. |
Wildlife Adoptions |
/ ©: wwf-canada |
Adopt a species today! |
Re: CS injector? |
>> what the stock CS injector is rated for flow? Are there other Bosch |
>> peak-and-hold injectors of the same physical dimensions that could mount |
>> in the stock location but support higher flow rates? I'm really dreaming |
>> now, how about part numbers? |
> From what I have heard, the stock CIS system is capable of ALOT |
>of HP. No need to change injectors unless you are making 500HP. In that |
>case, you should change over to a programmable EFI system anyway. |
The stock injector may be capable of alot of HP, but the stock |
fuel regulator starts to lean out at about 275 hp. (per ned) The later |
model fuel regulators are capable of more, but not 500 hp. |
I don't know much about the callaway system, but in general add-ons |
give uneven fuel enrichment. The use of the cold start injector is |
popular but problematic. You don't want different fuel ratios in |
different cylinders. |
I thought the rising rate fuel regulator was the way to go, and Probst |
is my source for that info. Ned didn't think so. The mechanical fuel |
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