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PUBLIC CONTENT

A Differentiated, Practical Methodology for Analyzing Public Company Board Seat Opportunities (public)
By Small-Cap Institute[This is a truncated version of a more thorough piece for SCI members. If you are an officer/director of a public company, you can join here to view the complete article with extensive, detailed action items.]Conspicuously lost in the dialogue...

Table of Contents
An overview of Small-Cap Institute’s content library.

SCI Exclusives: Unique Small-Cap Boardroom Challenges with Fund Manager Joseph Manko
This is the third in a new series of live interviews (SCI Exclusives) undertaken by Small-Cap Institute’s (SCI) editorial advisory board member, Amanda Gerut, where SCI will be spending time together with renowned investors, capital markets experts, and seasoned...

Three Hard Truths About Email Most Executives Overlook
By Small-Cap Institute This was adapted from an advisory bulletin recently written by the chair of our editorial advisory board, Adam J. Epstein.Most disastrous boardroom situations have three things in common: (1) email; (2) impaired reputations; and (3) they were...

SCI Exclusives: From Large-Caps to Startups with Tech Veteran Caroline Tsay
This is the second in a new series of live interviews (SCI Exclusives) undertaken by Small-Cap Institute’s (SCI) editorial advisory board member, Amanda Gerut, where SCI will be spending time together with renowned investors, capital markets experts, and seasoned...

SCI Exclusives: A Candid Interview with Legendary Fund Manager John W. Rogers, Jr.
This is the first in a new series of live interviews (SCI Exclusives) undertaken by Small-Cap Institute’s Amanda Gerut, where SCI will be spending time together with renowned investors, capital markets experts, and seasoned small-cap leaders. Though the videos are...

Webinar: Better Investor Meetings with the Buy-side
Small-Cap Institute's founder, David Scher, was hosted by Paul Dorfman, Head of LIstings - NYSE American, for a webinar discussing some of the ways companies can improve their meetings with the buy-side.

Memo to Small-Cap CEOs: The “Investor” You Just Met With… Might Not Be an Investor
By Small-Cap InstituteSmall-caps raise between $30 billion to $50 billion annually in the equity capital markets to facilitate expansion and innovation. Nearly every business day, CEOs and CFOs meet with institutional money managers that supply growth capital. Most...

It Might be Time for Small-Caps to Start Caring About ESG
So far, sustainability and environmental, social, and governance issues (“ESG”) have resided squarely in the realm of mid- and large-cap companies and their investors. Larger companies and boards that were flat-footed in understanding and operationalizing ESG are now being forced to play catch up and are working to avoid being tagged as ESG laggards by investors and activists.

Investors’ Favorite Small-Cap Boardroom Hire
Unlike in most mid- and large-cap companies, it’s common for small-cap companies to be operated and governed by those who are either new to public company roles, or by those who lack significant experience operating and governing public companies.

Three Characteristics of Companies That Successfully Uplist (public)
In any given year, dozens of publicly traded companies move to Nasdaq and NYSE from other trading venues in the United States; i.e., they “uplist.” Uplisting can be a transformative event for a publicly traded company for all the same reasons a traditional IPO can be. But every CEO who has succeeded with their migration to an exchange will attest that it is a multi-year minefield of risks.

Examples of Great Small-Cap Boards in Action
Spend enough time in boardrooms, and you will find that transformative governance often starts in innocuous ways. A shift in one board member’s body language may open the door for another board member to interject, and before long, a major risk is avoided, or capital...

WEBINAR: 7 Value-Killing Small-Cap Boardroom Mistakes

The Systemic Dilemma for Small-Cap Service Providers
A recent piece in The Wall Street Journal eluded to a fascinating insight: “Companies appear to avoid hiring auditors that have a history of critical audits at other companies…” Every experienced investor knows that this phenomenon is not solely limited to auditing....

CEO Corner with Karen Zaderej, Chairman, CEO, and President of Axogen Corporation
Small-Cap Institute's Amanda Gerut interviews Axogen Corporation's Karen Zaderej. Ms. Zaderej is chairman, CEO, and president of Axogen Corporation (NASDAQ:AXGN). Axogen (AXGN) is the leading company focused specifically on the science, development and...

What Every Small-Cap CEO Needs to Know about Shareholder Activism (Part 1 of 4: Who Are They, and Why Are They Here?)
by Beatriz Infante Part 1 of this primer covers why small-cap companies can frequently be magnets for activist challenges. Part 2 discusses the different kinds of activist investors in greater detail, and what motivates them. Part 3 discusses concrete steps CEOs and...
CEO Corner with Garry Ridge, CEO of WD-40 Company
Small-Cap Institute's Amanda Gerut interviews WD-40 CEO, Garry Ridge. Mr. Ridge is president and chief executive officer of the WD-40 Company (NASDAQ:WDFC). WD-40 Company is the maker of the ever-popular WD-40, as well as 3-IN-ONE Oil, Solvol and Lava heavy duty hand...

SCI Insights: Candid, Off the Record Q&A with an Institutional Investor & Board Member
Public company boards, whether they are listed or not, are supposed to be selected predominantly by independent board members that make up the nominating/governance committee of a board. Sadly, in most small-cap companies, it’s the CEO who personally selects board members. Since board members are supposed to oversee the manner in which the CEO and others operate the company, it’s a glaring problem, as friends don’t typically do a great job objectively overseeing their friends.

SCI Book Highlights: The Imperfect Board Member – Discovering the Seven Disciplines of Governance Excellence
SCI Book Highlights The Imperfect Board Member Discovering the Seven Disciplines of Governance ExcellenceDescription [excerpted from the book]: Meet David Slater. He is an ambitious and overcommitted executive who is struggling to lead his business through its first...
CEO Corner with Billy Prim, Founder of Blue Rhino and Primo Water
Small-Cap Institute's Amanda Gerut interviews renowned small-cap CEO, Billy Prim. Mr. Prim founded Blue Rhino, which was ultimately acquired for $340m. Subsequently, Mr. Prim founded Primo Water (Nasdaq: PRMW), where he now chairs the board. Mr. Prim provides...
SUBSCRIBER CONTENT

Setting Your Board Members Up to Succeed
By Small-Cap Institute, Inc.Great small-caps are not only disciplined when it comes to appointing new board members, but they take the extra step of setting directors up to succeed by thoughtfully preparing them. If you were to ask those companies why “onboarding” is...

A Differentiated, Practical Methodology for Analyzing Public Company Board Seat Opportunities
By Small-Cap InstituteConspicuously lost in the dialogue about getting a coveted public company board seat is how to decide whether to accept one if it is offered. As we have discussed elsewhere within Small-Cap Institute, Inc., public company board service –...
Be Very Careful When Moving a Board Member into the C-Suite
By Susanne MelineA 2018 article in The Wall Street Journal highlighted the increased frequency with which large-cap companies have been replacing CEOs with existing board members[i]. Recent cases include David L. Calhoun (Boeing); John Donahoe (Nike); James Taiclet...
IR Website Compliance – Are You Prepared for an SEC IR Website Compliance Review?
Tom Runzo, Equisolve Jack Hogoboom, Lowenstein Sandler Any SEC inquiry can be a terrifying experience and IR website compliance is no exception. While your IR website may seem insignificant in the grand scheme of things when it comes to compliance, let’s face it: once...
Top 5 Ways CFOs Can Fine Tune Relationships with Outside Auditors
By Ravi KumarThere are few service provider relationships that are more critical than the relationship between a public company CFO and their audit partner. It has been said that the audit field has become highly commoditized. However, what may have normalized from an...
Pandemic Teach-In: Small-Cap Leaders Weigh in on Leadership
By Small-Cap Institute We reached out to small-cap leaders both inside and outside the confines of Small-Cap Institute, Inc. to share some of their thoughts about operating and governing during the business challenges created by COVID-19. What resulted was an...

Cybersecurity Pitfalls to Avoid While Working from Home
A chief information security officer weighs in with practical advice and red flags to watch for while working from home. By Amanda Gerut As companies continue in remote-work mode, the cybersecurity landscape is undergoing massive shifts. For small-cap companies,...

Small-Cap Institute’s 2020 Diversity Report
by Small-Cap Institute Small-Cap Institute’s board diversity initiative is designed to educate small-cap boards about how to efficiently locate board candidates with greater thought diversity. Many experienced small-cap investors concur that boards that are comprised...

Three Characteristics of Companies That Successfully Uplist
In any given year, dozens of publicly traded companies move to Nasdaq and NYSE from other trading venues in the United States; i.e., they “uplist.” Uplisting can be a transformative event for a publicly traded company for all the same reasons a traditional IPO can...
Board Compensation in Small-Cap Life Sciences Companies: The Elusive Data
Nearly 80 percent of public companies in the United States have market capitalizations[i] below $500 million. Despite the sheer number of small-cap[ii] companies, once you descend below $500 million market capitalization, reliable, constructive[iii], board...