Sports Business Simulations - SBS Investor Relations
Investor FAQ
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How does Sports Business Simulations make money?
Sports Business Simulations has five basic revenue sources:
- Simulation account subscriptions for the XFL Simwworld and Oakland Baseball Simwworld
- Commissions from automated ticket sales transactions via an affiliate relationship with StubHub.com
- Commissions from affiliate relationships with other online retail companies.
- Payment from visitor clicks on posted link ads via a program hosted by Google, Inc.
- Consulting engagements via "SBS-ON" - SBS' online marketing consulting service.
When does Sports Business Simulations's fiscal year end?
Our fiscal year ends with the calendar year. Our quarters end
on March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31.
How many employees do you have?
As of January 1, 2006, we had 4 employees located in Oakland, Seattle, and Chicago.
When was Sports Business Simulations's initial public offering, and at what price?
SBS is not a publicly-held company as of this writing. However, SBS' exit strategy is to either be acquired or "go public."
Where is Sports Business Simulations traded?
Sports Business Simulations is a privately-held Delaware Corporation. SBS shares are currently privately-held.
How can I invest in Sports Business Simulations?
At present, 27 percent of SBS stock is unallocated. This means that it's not owned and free to be purchased, provided that the proposed offer meets the approval of our Board of Directors, who's shares are protected by a "Buy / Sell Agreement."
What is a transfer agent? And who is yours? How do I contact them?
A transfer agent is not currently necessary to obtain SBS stock. If you're interested in becoming an SBS shareholder and member of the Board of Directors, please contact SBS in writing at the following adress:
Sports Business Simulations 375 Van Buren Avenue, Suite 19 Oakland, CA., 94610 (510) 387-9809 http://www.sportsbusinesssims.com
Does Sports Business Simulations pay a cash dividend?
No, as SBS is not a publicly-held firm. But there is a provision for Board Members to be compensated should revenue and profits reach a predetermined level.
When is the Sports Business Simulations Annual Stockholders' Meeting?
SBS' shareholder meetings are held on an "on call" basis. Stay tuned for more details.
Does Sports Business Simulations have a direct purchase plan?
No, we don't as of this writing, but we're contemplating a type of provision within this website.
Who can I contact about specific investor relations issues?
Zennie Abraham, Chairman and CEO, Sports Business Simulations, 510-387-9809, zennie@sportsbusinesssims.com
How will my $100,000 investment impact SBS?
 The origin of Sports Business Simulations - by Zenophon Abraham, SBS Chairman and CEO
My background is in urban economics and city planning. I first became aware of System Dynamics when I was 17 and in the form of a now-famous book called The Limits to Growth
About a year later, I came across a book called The Systems Approach and its Ememies by C West Churchman. That book had a profound impact on my life in that I began to incorporate a more "all-encompassing" method of analysis to my work in school at Texas Arlington. At UTA I also ran accross several System Dynamics books, specifically Urban Dynamics and Industrial Dynamics. Between the three System Dynamics related-books, I must have read them about 20 times.
I then started to ask my economics teacher about System Dynamics, as he went to Dartmouth, where Dennis Meadows and his wife Donnella ran the System Dynamics program.
In city planning grad school at Berkeley, I never had the chance to use System Dynamics as there were no classes or software that I knew of at the time -- this was 1985 to 1987. But I kept reading books on the subject.
Then, after grad school and in 1989 I was fortunate enough to land a job with the Prevention Research Center in Berkeley doing NOTHING but making system dynamics models and learning a then-new programming language called ITHINK, by High Performance Systems. I eventually outgrew the knoweldge of my then-boss and we clashed as he was using the software not to really DO system dynamics, but to do projections just as one would use a spreadsheet.
Also during that time, I devoured and digested all available documentation on the software, made a lot of models, and became a Beta-Tester for High Performance Systems. I also became aware of another firm called The Global Business Network in Emeryville-- they do what is called scenario planning. I met a number of people there at their Christmas Party, including Ken Hamik (who later ran the Strategic Planning program at PG&E) and co-founder Peter Schwartz, who wrote the famous book, The Art of The Long View, and Bob Klien, who was just starting the now famous restaurant Olivetto in Oakland, CA. I still am in touch with people at GBN today and am a regular at Mr. Klien's establishment.
Over the years, I've made over 200 System Dynamics models for different purposes, the most recognized was one showing the economic impact of UC Berkeley on the City of Berkeley. In that, I discovered -- after making a 500-equation System Dynamics model -- that an increase in tuition costs actually caused a decrease in spending in the city.
This was not what the publisher of the East Bay Express expected to learn, as he had a pre-conceived idea that a drop in salaries would impact the City of Berkeley. No. The reason is that many Cal employees don't live in Berkeley, whereas students do.
In 1993, I wrote a column called Oakland's Economy for The Montclarion, and there I was able to work in some System Dynamics concepts into my columns.
In 1995 I was hired as Economic Advisor to Elihu Harris, the Mayor of Oakland. In 1997, he asked me to form buyer teams to purchase the Oakland Athletics. One of the persons I worked with wanted something more than the basic snapshot of their financials. So, I created an System Dynamics model -- that was the basis for the Oakland Baseball Simworld.
From 1999 to late 2000, I headed the effort to bring the Super Bowl to Oakland. We lost to Jacksonville for 2005. But I learned a lot about the NFL and came away with an idea to make a kind of System Dynamics model of the organization and such that they could test policy. I had the idea of putting this online, but didn't have all the tools I needed. Then, in a kind of fit of pique, I learned about Forio Business Simulations, across the Bay from me.
Forio President Michael Bean and I had lunch on December 9th of 2001. With his help and the assistance of his business partner Will Glass Husain, I learned Forio Macro Language and HTML and made my first sim, the XFL Microworld -- we now call it "Simworld." In January of 2002, the Oakland Tribune gave me a business - page lead article on it.
In June, I met Sports Economist Dan Rascher and to talk about possibly working on an argument to construct a downtown stadium for The Oakland A's. But Dan had took note of my XFL Sim; he runs the Sport Management Program at USF. So, I told him about another sim I was working on called The Oakland Athletics Simworld.
I finshed the Oakland Sim on October 22nd of 2002. The very next day (because the SF Giants were in the World Series), Michael Bean and I were in SF to make a TV segment for a show called "Inside Silcon Valley Business." (The spot is on our website). Then Dan and I met that Friday, and came up with the idea of a company called Sports Business Simulations.
On December 5th of 2002, Mark Anthony Jones became our angel investor. SBS was born on January 23rd of 2003, and the site launched on June 22nd of the same year.
Over time, our company has evolved from one that just had the two simulations, to its form today -- running a website that has over 500 pages of content and affiliate product relationships with the sims at the center. The combination allows SBS to have a more robust revenue stream -- as simulation accounts tend to be cyclical -- and to permit SBS to maintain low subcription costs.
Over that time, we incorporated blogs and other content. As my interest in and knoweldge of Search Engine Optimization has increased, the site's performance has grown such that over 70 percent of our web pages are found on the first page of search engine lookups. This kind of indirect marketing has been the key to the growing popularity of our simulations. Many of our accounts have been gained by people who found SBS looking for something else on a search engine like Google.
SBS current strategy is to keep improving its two sims, grow the content offerings and affiliate products offerings on the site, add pages and continue to increase the monthly unique vistor count, establish our own affiliate program, and continue to develop and use more innovative SEO techniques -- and of course increase revenue and profit. I also wish to add one more simulation this year, and in the fall.
The Oakland Baseball Simworld has become our flagship product, but the XFL Simworld is gaining in popularity as it's a simpler sim. Both are used in over 15 colleges, but I wish to expand them into the common business administration programs as it can be as useful there as it would be in a sport managment or sport marketing class.
SBS seeks inquiries and investment. Contact SBS at info@sportsbusinesssims.com or 510-387-9809.
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