Posted by
YBC on Tuesday, December 11, 2007 8:42:47 PM
This post will be about Mitt Romney the businessman. We need someone who understands the free markets in Washingtn and will curve the out of control spending.
This is in direct contrast to Huckabee who uses class warfare like John Edwards. This is not conservative.
I will use this article from
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/specials/romney/articles/part3_main/ as a backdrop. My commentary will be in all caps.
In time, Romney would lead the shaky start-up from a staff of seven people managing $37 million to 115 people managing $4 billion in assets. During Romney's 15-year tenure, Bain Capital would post an astonishing record, on average doubling its return on realized investments every year. Thomas H. Lee, founder of cross-town rival Thomas H. Lee Partners, calls the company's performance under Romney ''one of the great stories of American capital.''
JIM CRAMER CALLED MITT ROMNEY ONE OF THE BEST BUSINESS MEN IN NORTH AMERICA.
Their first job: raise the investment fund. Romney and a Bain Capital partner, Coleman Andrews, went on the road, using overhead projectors and Romney's mastery of details to woo investors. During one pitch, Andrews recalls, an investor asked if Romney would spend money on fancy offices and big expense accounts.
Andrews told him not to worry about Romney. ''He pops his own popcorn and takes it to the movies.''
Frugal with his own money, Romney insisted that Bain Capital be especially careful with other people's money.
The office was Spartan, furnished with gray metal desks. When partners traveled, they flew coach. Andrews recalls that the rule for meals on the road was: ''They should be nourishing, but not memorable.''
THIS IS WHAT WE NEED IN WASHINGTON. SOMEONE WHO UNDERSTANDS THE CONCEPT OF OTHER PEOPLES MONEY.
By 1986, Bain Capital had invested very little. But that year proved a turning point, with major deals that put the firm on the map. The best known was Thomas Stemberg's office supply company, Staples Inc.
At the time, companies bought most of their pens, pencils, and paper from small stationers, usually at significant mark-ups. Stemberg, a former supermarket executive, wanted to change that, but couldn't find investors.
One venture capitalist scoffed at Stemberg, ''Why in the world would anyone try to save money on paper clips?''
''Look,'' Stemberg told Romney, ''your mistake is that the guys you called think they know what they spend, but they don't.''
Romney and Bain Capital went back to the businesses and tallied up invoices. Stemberg's assessment of the market seemed right after all.
On May 1, 1986, backed by an initial Bain Capital investment of $650,000, the first Staples opened in Brighton. Explosive growth followed. Today, Staples is a $18 billion company.
ROMNEY HELPED OVER 150 COMPANIES INCLUDING STAPLES AND DOMINO'S. LIKE ORRIN HATCH SAID HE SUPPORTS ROMNEY BECAUSE THE GUY IS A FINANCIAL GENIUS.
THIS IS WHAT WE NEED IN WASHINGTON. SOMEONE WHO IS FRUGAL WITH OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY AND UNDERSTANDS MARKET DYNAMICS.