John H. Ford's Instablog For the past 30 years, I have been involved in startups, as a founder, and active investor. My first company was purchased by Johnson & Johnson, which set the foundation for future investments. My level of trading escalated after graduating from college, primarily as a result of my relationship with the founder of the Silicon Valley venture capital firm, Institutional Venture Partners, (Netflix, Twitter, Oracle). By focusing on VC backed companies, I soon learned the advantage of investing in promising companies before they became household names. My interest in startups has never waned, and has become my primary focus today. John H. Ford http://seekingalpha.com/author/john-h-ford/instablog Marathon Patent Group Could Provide A 2X Short-term Return http://seekingalpha.com/instablog/592211-john-h-ford/1817721-marathon-patent-group-could-provide-a-2x-short-term-return?source=feed 1817721 Yesterday, I initiated a position in Marathon patent group (MARA.OB). I like the business model, management team, and low valuation. I'm working on an article which will explain all aspects of this new IP company.

Disclosure: I am long [[MARA.OB]].

]]> Thu, 02 May 2013 09:05:43 -0400 Yesterday, I initiated a position in Marathon patent group (MARA.OB). I like the business model, management team, and low valuation. I'm working on an article which will explain all aspects of this new IP company.

Disclosure: I am long [[MARA.OB]].

]]> mara.ob Dr. Phillip Frost Increases Investment In MusclePharm http://seekingalpha.com/instablog/592211-john-h-ford/1493401-dr-phillip-frost-increases-investment-in-musclepharm?source=feed 1493401 Today MusclePharm announced that Dr. Phillip Frost has increased his investment in the company. This is a strong confirmation to my previous article.

Disclosure: I am long [[MSLPD.OB]].

]]> Mon, 28 Jan 2013 10:02:47 -0500 Today MusclePharm announced that Dr. Phillip Frost has increased his investment in the company. This is a strong confirmation to my previous article.

Disclosure: I am long [[MSLPD.OB]].

]]> 2011 And 2012 Performance Report http://seekingalpha.com/instablog/592211-john-h-ford/1416561-2011-and-2012-performance-report?source=feed 1416561 As a trader, I thought it would be a good idea to publish the short-term shareprice performance for all Seeking Alpha articles I have written. My calculations are based on the closing price immediately prior to when the article was published, and the highest price within five days following publication.

The average short-term gain for all articles over the past 18 months, was 36%. My worst performing article eked out a 1% gain, and my best hit 248%.

One error I made in 2012, was publishing articles after the shares had experienced a tremendous run-up. It takes me at least two weeks to write an article, and in a couple of instances, by the time I finished the article, the share price had appreciated 50% to 100%. I will attempt to avoid repeating that error in 2013.

Here are the publication dates followed by the results:

MSLP, December 19, 2012, short-term gain: 6%

PTNT, November 27, 2012, short-term gain: 22%

MGT, November 5, 2012, short-term gain: 3%

DSS, October 8, 2012, short-term gain: 7.6%

OPK, October 3, 2012, short-term gain: 8.6%

CDXC, September 14, 2012, short-term gain: 30%

CUR, September 11, 2012, short-term gain: 248%

VRNG, August 6, 2012, short-term gain: 31%

VRNG, July 25, 2012, short-term gain: 9%

VRNG, July 23, 2012, short-term gain: 21%

VHC, May 3, 2012, short-term gain: 61%

OCLS, March 27, 2012, short-term gain: 20%

VHC, March 7, 2012, short-term gain: 23%

OCLS, February 9, 2012, short-term gain: 45%

ISR, November 22, 2011, short-term gain: 6%

ISR, November 17, 2011, short-term gain: 23%,

EK, October 3, 2011, short-term gain: 100%

OCLS, September 21, 2011, short-term gain: 51%

EK, September 6, 2011, short-term gain: 5%

VHC, August 25, 2011, short-term gain: 31%

EXAR, August 22, 2011, short-term gain: 6%

VHC, August 16, 2011, short-term gain: 1%

EK, August 12, 2011, short-term gain: 67%

VHC, June 1, 2011, short-term gain: 37%

Average short-term gain for all articles: 36%

As my Wall Street network expands, I hope to be providing insight into undervalued, undiscovered companies, and present my case to Seeking Alpha readers.

Cheers and good trading to all in 2013.

John Ford

]]> Wed, 02 Jan 2013 12:43:17 -0500 As a trader, I thought it would be a good idea to publish the short-term shareprice performance for all Seeking Alpha articles I have written. My calculations are based on the closing price immediately prior to when the article was published, and the highest price within five days following publication.

The average short-term gain for all articles over the past 18 months, was 36%. My worst performing article eked out a 1% gain, and my best hit 248%.

One error I made in 2012, was publishing articles after the shares had experienced a tremendous run-up. It takes me at least two weeks to write an article, and in a couple of instances, by the time I finished the article, the share price had appreciated 50% to 100%. I will attempt to avoid repeating that error in 2013.

Here are the publication dates followed by the results:

MSLP, December 19, 2012, short-term gain: 6%

PTNT, November 27, 2012, short-term gain: 22%

MGT, November 5, 2012, short-term gain: 3%

DSS, October 8, 2012, short-term gain: 7.6%

OPK, October 3, 2012, short-term gain: 8.6%

CDXC, September 14, 2012, short-term gain: 30%

CUR, September 11, 2012, short-term gain: 248%

VRNG, August 6, 2012, short-term gain: 31%

VRNG, July 25, 2012, short-term gain: 9%

VRNG, July 23, 2012, short-term gain: 21%

VHC, May 3, 2012, short-term gain: 61%

OCLS, March 27, 2012, short-term gain: 20%

VHC, March 7, 2012, short-term gain: 23%

OCLS, February 9, 2012, short-term gain: 45%

ISR, November 22, 2011, short-term gain: 6%

ISR, November 17, 2011, short-term gain: 23%,

EK, October 3, 2011, short-term gain: 100%

OCLS, September 21, 2011, short-term gain: 51%

EK, September 6, 2011, short-term gain: 5%

VHC, August 25, 2011, short-term gain: 31%

EXAR, August 22, 2011, short-term gain: 6%

VHC, August 16, 2011, short-term gain: 1%

EK, August 12, 2011, short-term gain: 67%

VHC, June 1, 2011, short-term gain: 37%

Average short-term gain for all articles: 36%

As my Wall Street network expands, I hope to be providing insight into undervalued, undiscovered companies, and present my case to Seeking Alpha readers.

Cheers and good trading to all in 2013.

John Ford

]]> Major League Athletes Confirm Muscle Pharm Product Efficacy http://seekingalpha.com/instablog/592211-john-h-ford/1412421-major-league-athletes-confirm-muscle-pharm-product-efficacy?source=feed 1412421 Last week I had an interesting conversation with a substantial MusclePharm shareholder, and he provided some insight as to why he began investing in the company. He is friends with a number of major league athletes, so when he began investigating MusclePharm, he asked them what they thought of MusclePharm's products. What he discovered, was that not only is MusclePharm fairly well-known among professional athletes, but many athletes are using the products. This provides just one more confirmation of my belief that MusclePharm's impressive revenue growth is a result of a product lineup that actually works.

Disclosure: I am long [[MSLPD.OB]].

]]> Mon, 31 Dec 2012 13:06:39 -0500 Last week I had an interesting conversation with a substantial MusclePharm shareholder, and he provided some insight as to why he began investing in the company. He is friends with a number of major league athletes, so when he began investigating MusclePharm, he asked them what they thought of MusclePharm's products. What he discovered, was that not only is MusclePharm fairly well-known among professional athletes, but many athletes are using the products. This provides just one more confirmation of my belief that MusclePharm's impressive revenue growth is a result of a product lineup that actually works.

Disclosure: I am long [[MSLPD.OB]].

]]> mslp.ob Vringo Seeking 3.5% Royalty Rate http://seekingalpha.com/instablog/592211-john-h-ford/1226831-vringo-seeking-3-5-royalty-rate?source=feed 1226831 VRNG is seeking $493 million based on a 3.5% royalty rate on the 20% extra profit that GOOG allegedly earned while using Vringo patents.

Vringo is not seeking damages based on Google's $67 billion number.

]]> Tue, 30 Oct 2012 12:14:06 -0400 VRNG is seeking $493 million based on a 3.5% royalty rate on the 20% extra profit that GOOG allegedly earned while using Vringo patents.

Vringo is not seeking damages based on Google's $67 billion number.

]]> vrng Vringo/Google Settlement Likely http://seekingalpha.com/instablog/592211-john-h-ford/1159831-vringo-google-settlement-likely?source=feed 1159831 Google has accused Vringo of grossly overstating Google's revenue. This is an extremely defensive posture, and in my opinion, Google is admitting that it is going to ultimately pay Vringo, but it would like to do so on a lower revenue base. In other words, Google would not be "arguing down" it's revenue figure, unless serious negotiations were either happening now, or inevitable.

I intend to maintain a long position as we approach the October 16 trial date.

Disclosure: I am long [[VRNG]].

]]> Wed, 10 Oct 2012 12:39:49 -0400 Google has accused Vringo of grossly overstating Google's revenue. This is an extremely defensive posture, and in my opinion, Google is admitting that it is going to ultimately pay Vringo, but it would like to do so on a lower revenue base. In other words, Google would not be "arguing down" it's revenue figure, unless serious negotiations were either happening now, or inevitable.

I intend to maintain a long position as we approach the October 16 trial date.

Disclosure: I am long [[VRNG]].

]]> vrng