The worst part was that the Brit's reportage was just spleen-filled
editorializing on the lack of ethics in the valley's board-rooms (a
favorite subject of hers, which no doubt accounted for his
fellow-feeling), and it was also the crux of Kettlewell's schtick. The
spectacle of an exec who talked ethics enraged Rat-Toothed more than
the vilest baby-killers. He was the kind of revolutionary who liked
his firing squads arranged in a circle.
"I'm not that dumb, folks," Kettlewell said, provoking a stagey laugh
from Mr Rat-Tooth. "Here's the thing: the market had valued these
companies at less than their cash on hand. They have twenty billion in
the bank and a 16 billion dollar market-cap. We just made four billion
dollars, just by buying up the stock and taking control of the
company. We could shut the doors, stick the money in our pockets, and
retire."
Suzanne took notes. She knew all this, but Kettlewell gave good
sound-bite, and talked slow in deference to the kind of reporter who
preferred a notebook to a recorder. "But we're not gonna do that." He
hunkered down on his haunches at the edge of the stage, letting his
tie dangle, staring spacily at the journalists and analysts. "Kodacell
is bigger than that." He'd read his email that morning then, and seen
Rat-Toothed's new moniker. "Kodacell has goodwill. It has
infrastructure. Administrators. Physical plant. Supplier
relationships. Distribution and logistics. These companies have a lot
of useful plumbing and a lot of priceless reputation.
"What we don't have is a product. There aren't enough buyers for
batteries or film -- or any of the other stuff we make -- to occupy or
support all that infrastructure. These companies slept through the
dot-boom and the dot-bust, trundling along as though none of it
mattered. There are parts of these businesses that haven't changed
since the fifties.
"We're not the only ones. Technology has challenged and killed
businesses from every sector. Hell, IBM *doesn't make computers
anymore*! The very idea of a travel agent is inconceivably weird
today! And the record labels, oy, the poor, crazy, suicidal, stupid
record labels. Don't get me started.
"Capitalism is eating itself. The market works, and when it works, it
commodifies or obsoletes everything. That's not to say that there's no
money out there to be had, but the money won't come from a single,
monolithic product line. The days of companies with names like
'General Electric' and 'General Mills' and 'General Motors' are
over. The money on the table is like krill: a billion little
entrepreneurial opportunities that can be discovered and exploited by
smart, creative people.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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