First interview with Iain McCready CEO NeoMedia

by: Bena Roberts Friday, June 6th, 2008

I was slightly late for my call to Iain McCready the new CEO of NeoMedia as I had a tennis lesson that ran on a bit. So, in fear of missing it I ran drove at 200km per hour to get back to the house, parked in the street and then jumped over the sofa to the phone.

When I called him, he answered on the first ring which is always a good sign. So, we started off with the chit chat and I found myself smiling as he spoke in a soft but firm Scottish accent.

I had a lot of questions to get through and I didn’t ask all of them – but did ask a lot. So here we go

Bena: Iain. Why did you take the position as CEO of NeoMedia?
Iain: I had decided to leave Mobiqa. I had been there for three years and had built the company from a start-up to a huge success with several high value high brand customers. I had already officially left Mobiqa and via Yorkville Advisors; I started as a consultant for NeoMedia.

I was then offered the position of CEO and thought it would be a fantastic challenge. But there is a lot of activity going on for NeoMedia at the moment it’s an extremely interesting time and I am very positive.
Bena: Weren’t you scared. It’s a huge job and there have been a lot of issues.

Iain: No. I am only concerned with the future. I am going to concentrate on funding, moving forward and to concentrate on a sensible footing for the business.

Bena: Hmm. But what about when NeoMedia was huge and bullish and then it was like Yorkville came in and NeoMedia went down hill and so did profit.

Iain: The market for mobile barcodes just wasn’t ready we were too early.

Bena: So are you going to survive from loans from Yorkville – how will that secure the future? I heard that the company was giving you USD 400K per month?

Iain: Yorkville have been extremely supportive of NeoMedia and will continue to be. I have a strong track history of getting and bringing in new investment to business. That is what I am going to do. I am going to get strong funding for NeoMedia and turn the company around.

Bena: I don’t understand. Is that new funding – without Yorkville?

Iain: It is capital from strong partners, investors and VCs. We need to get more funding for NeoMedia to make this company happen.

Bena: So with Yorkville?

Iain: I see Yorkville as part of our future. But I also see new investors seizing this great opportunity.
Bena: What if you don’t get funding?

Iain: Bena. You know that if we don’t get funding that will not be good for NeoMedia as we know that companies need money to survive. I will get funding for Neomedia. I am extremely confident of that fact and we will make this business a success.

Bena: Sorry, If I am being stupid Iain. But how does that work as a public company. What will happen to shares in the company with more funding will they go down?

Iain: Bena. This is not just a one page strategy. We need to bring in sales and scale our huge product range. My goal is to make NeoMedia a business. We have too many great things that we need to stop the confusion and fight back with a single strategy?

Bena: You man like Qode, NeoReader, Gavitec, NeoMedia, Mobile digit? Different names, some now not in existence but one company.

Iain: Exactly. We need one brand, one strategy, one business.

Bena: Will NeoMedia be the brand?

Iain: Yes, I think so.

Bena: OK. One of the questions sent to me was – can you afford sales people?

Iain: My answer is, “how can we not afford sales people”. We know what we have to do to succeed and we will get there.

Bena: Iain you do sound very confident and convincing. But what about the shareholders that lost a fortune on NeoMedia?

Iain: I feel very grateful to everyone that has supported NeoMedia and will make sure that the company succeeds moving forward. I understand the frustration of the shareholders and I know what that feels like.
But then he paused and he said,

Bena, (best quote of the day)
I can’t manage the past – but I can make the future.

Time out:
OK – by this time in the interview I decided that Iain was a very convincing guy. I know Chas Fritz (who was very calm when I spoke to him); I know Chip (who was very diplomatic when I spoke to him) but Iain McCready is slightly different. He has that ex-military confidence that makes you believe him.

Back to the interview:

Bena: What about patents and standards bodies?

Iain: Standards bodies are extremely positive. We have excellent relationships and everyone is working on a common standard and we are part of that. It’s an exciting time at we are at the centre of it.

Patents. We are in a fabulous position to own the patents.

Bena: Then why is Scanbuy abusing them and everyone jumping on the proprietary bandwagon.

Iain: Bena we don’t want one tiny exclusive customer. We want scale. We want masses of users and subscribers. Propriety players might have their few months of glory but we are not worried about them. We want a scalable strong strategy. We want to lead and not follow this market.

Bena: So do you need to address marketing. There was very little hype surrounding the Neo Media iPhone solution and Scanbuy had a video, hype, pr and all sorts.

Iain: I have never been as impressed as I am now with the marketing proposals and ideas that I have received on the table in the past week. My job now is to create get funding to make this happen and to drive this business. We are very well placed. We have the patents in our back pocket and the technology to deliver powerful business assets.

This is the right time for NeoMedia.

I scanned the questions and tried to think of something else –but I was left slight speechless. So, I just said, “wow. Well I wish you the very best of luck and huge success”.

Iain thanked me and then remembered one of the questions on the list that I had forgotten! He said, I read the blog and all the comments and please tell your readers, “the next shareholder call is in August”.

With that I got my voice back. I gave Iain my two cents on what NeoMedia should do, which he listened too politely. (I know, sometimes I just can’t help myself!)

Then I then invited myself to lunch with Iain when he is Aachen and left it there.

9 Responses to “First interview with Iain McCready CEO NeoMedia”

Brewskih Said:

Bena,

Those were some good questions, but the answers do not jive with the facts on the ground, from a shareholder perspective.

First of all, the new CFO has just left the company as well, and another 700,000 loan was issued to Neomedia, by YA. The filing with SEC was posted yesterday.

Neomedia’s quarterly costs of operations is 1.5 million, and we have already been told that number can not be reduced any lower, so this lone covers just ver another month of operations.

That is current operations by the way, without hiring new sales staff, which will only elevate the the operational costs.

By the way, Neom never went downhill or its profit never went downhill due to YA coming on board. Neomedia, never earned a profit in its 13 year history. And when Neomedia was selling stock to YA by virtue of a standby equity agreement that was a good thing. That relationship seized when Neomedia bought the subs, and need a loan from YA to purchase them. The new standby agreement for 100 million dollars value, was then null and void, and from that point on selling stock for financing changed to giving away stock for loans.

But I have to question just how this new CEO is going to attract new VC funding, when YA controls all the strings and has to agree to such an arrangement, and has first call on any such arrangement.

It all sounds well and good, but didn’t that last two or 3 CEO’s all have the same optimism? Thats their job to sell the company as a great success isn’t it? Why would anyone interviewing them expect anything less from the interview?

I get the feeling he sees this job as a new challenge, which any person with ambition would find appealing, and its a win/win situation for any CEO with a company like this. Just look at how Chip walked away with over 300,000.00 in salary and bonus’ for less then a years work, and now is being paid by Neomedia shareholders for the next year well he seeks another lucrative position to do the same thing to some other company.

The real concern here is his admission that he was brought to Neomedia initially through his work/ties with YA. So whose interests come first, YA’s or the shareholders who have as you pointed out, have lost many millions to date on this company and now own less then 5 percent. 2 years ago the retail shareholders owned 95 percent of the company, when Neomedia was using SEDA’s for its funding, instead of promissory notes at ridicules rates.

Comment made on June 6th, 2008 at 5:11 pm

NeoGuy Said:

Great job, thank you Bena

Comment made on June 6th, 2008 at 6:38 pm

Swampthing Said:

Iain and Bena,

Thank you for both finding time to answer questions. I am a shareholder and greatful that someone is taking control of company. It sounds like you have the right ideas.

Iain, for me, I want to know who are our silent partners, investors, etc? Who is involved in helping develop the physical world easy button?

Basically, how big is this going to be?

This may help gain other individual investors interest, and, give the current shareholders knowledge that things are moving along.

Thanks.

Comment made on June 6th, 2008 at 6:49 pm

Larry Said:

Nice job Bena You asked tough questions and I think you got heart felt answers. I for one will sit back and give him a chance to pull a rabbit out of his hat. Good Luck Iain.

Comment made on June 7th, 2008 at 12:55 am

streetstylz Said:

Bena,

Great interview with Iain.

Looking forward to great things in the coming months ahead.

Best of luck to Iain, and the fine folks at Gavitec and NeoMedia.

Thanks & best regards

Comment made on June 7th, 2008 at 1:11 am

Hans Colmar Said:

thanks Bena,great interview!

hope,you’ll “stay tuned” here,and we will get more infos about Neomedia!

Iian-good luck to you,I know,you will work very hard,to bring in success!

All the best!

regards,

Hans

Comment made on June 7th, 2008 at 10:41 am

Houdini Said:

Terrific interview Bena, thanks.

Alos, special thanks to Iain McCready, NeoMedia’s new CEO. Welcome on board. Out of all the positives which are occuring in the Physical World Connection space; those that are obvious as well as those that are understandably kept well concealed, this technology has matured and garnered enough strategic attention to begin its emergence into the everyday life of the real world. We are seeing its emergence in varying forms including airline boarding passes to bill board dispalys, package goods as well as print ads. Here in the US, Google is entering the space with their Android cell phone which will deploy its ZXing barcode scanning platform while ATT will be countering Googles efforts with their own barcode reader soon to be launched on Apples i-Phone. And so, it will only continue to quantifiably grow and evolve, slowly at forst and then ever incresingly faster until global ubiquity and pervasiveness is at last attained.

Unfortunately, many early investors in subject NeoMedia have been baldly hurt by the mis-steps of poor management and financier decisions which have created the huge overhang in share count and astounding and abysmal shareprice of $0.0022, thereby yielding an embarrassing FMV of just $2.7 Mil.

What is now at the center of the public’s eye and is unequivocally expected (even demanded) by the retail investor is a creatively crafted financial package by YA whereby immediate relief of share conversion and toxic dilutive practices immediately cease and the enormous burden of continuing to finance the company is taken off the shoulders of the “mom & pop” investors, once and for all.

This is the very least that YA and Mr. McCready as the new CEO owe to the long time loyal shareholders who have lost personal family fortunes, but continue to endore their efforts in turning the corner by revealing the true prowess this company is capable of demonstrating.

Cheers mate.

Comment made on June 8th, 2008 at 4:46 am

Elin Said:

Bena:

Without getting into the whole arguemtn over whether you are biased by Neomedia as they are an advertiser and sposor of your blog, i ask you thi:

Iain states the following:

Patents. We are in a fabulous position to own the patents.

Notice,Iain states that Neomedia is in a POSITION to own the patents.

Your response is
Bena: Then why is Scanbuy abusing them and everyone jumping on the proprietary bandwagon.

Why do you use strong language that Scanbuy is ABUSING Neomedia’s patents? Are you jusge and jury of that? Has a legal decision been made in the NY district court regarding this matter? No, i think not. Last I checked the parties have suspended the legal proceeding until a detertmination is made by the USPTO, who last I checked has actually rejected all 93 claims of Neomedia’s patent.

So again I ask please expalin your legal conclusion of “abuse” of patents.

Comment made on August 13th, 2008 at 5:21 am

Elin Said:

Bena:

I will forgot to add that you definitly did ask a lot of the hard hitting questions that needed to be answered, I just don’t know if the answers Iain provided really tell me much.

It seems like he avoided answering the hard questions and provided all the usual taglines and general hype about the “strategy,” “vision”" propects”, etc…

and no you are not stupid about the dilution hat will take place, you are exactly correct.

That is really the number 1 issue with the compnay and how they will be able to obtain funding.

Thanks for trying to get to the bottom of the Yorkville funding issue.

Comment made on August 13th, 2008 at 5:31 am

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