Sorenson Communications files for bankruptcy

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diehardbiker said:
I have made it clear, what does that mean when I said "I would love to go back there after I recover from my next surgery"?
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that doesn't answer my question. you are not currently employed by them but are you still "inside"?

when's the last time you worked there?
 
There are only 4 other VRS providers that is certified. Don't forget we once had 51 VRS providers back then. What happened to those 46 providers? One got busted with red hand, that is John Yeh's provider, the rest, can't afford keep running. When 45 providers quit due inability to manage financially, leaving only 5 surviving provider and what does that means to you?

Now it is MUCH harder to start a VRS business than it used to be, that is because of certification requirement and revenue won't be in for months, or maybe years. Whoever wants start VRS business must have millions and millions of dollars before FCC can agree with them. That makes it much much less attractive for future investment, hurting our future growth. Don't you know "father of VRS" Ed Bossom (SP) already mentioned how difficult and costly to start a VRS business, with certificate requirements.


wri7913 said:
John Yeh only accelerated what would have happened anyways. TRS fund was paying out way to much and at some point a balance or reduction would have happened.

Sorenson has been living outside of its means and ability to pay its bills for a long time now. Any company that doesn't keep a proper balance sheet will fail in the long run. If you take in less than out spend, you will fail. Taking out a loan delayed the inevitable and now the price has to be paid. Sorenson will file chapter 11, restructure their finance and move on from there. A friend of mine from Sorenson claimed they wouldn't lay off employees and continue to open new call centers. I seriously doubt that. There will be layoffs and there will be trimmings. If they can't get their spending under control, they will fail in the end.

Will this kill the VRS industry? Not likely at all. There have been several competitors out in the market vying for attention and users. Convo, Purple, and ZVRS are the major alternatives. Should Sorenson fail in the future, many of these competitors would pick up the slack and grow as a result. There might be a year or two of pain as those competitors adjust to the new users, but the marketplace for VRS is still very healthy.
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diehardbiker said:
Why you think I am joking? I am not!
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Why, you ask? Its because you obviously were not listening to what I had to say about what I and many deafies wish for ourselves as a culture. Concentrate on that if you can......if not, forget you......
 
diehardbiker said:
Sorenson and its affiliates generate revenue almost exclusively from FCC compensations for its services, making them especially susceptible to FCC-imposed rate changes, according to the filing.
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not just sorenson, all vrs provider revenue is from FCC
 
wri7913 said:
John Yeh only accelerated what would have happened anyways. TRS fund was paying out way to much and at some point a balance or reduction would have happened.

Sorenson has been living outside of its means and ability to pay its bills for a long time now. Any company that doesn't keep a proper balance sheet will fail in the long run. If you take in less than out spend, you will fail. Taking out a loan delayed the inevitable and now the price has to be paid. Sorenson will file chapter 11, restructure their finance and move on from there. A friend of mine from Sorenson claimed they wouldn't lay off employees and continue to open new call centers. I seriously doubt that. There will be layoffs and there will be trimmings. If they can't get their spending under control, they will fail in the end.

Will this kill the VRS industry? Not likely at all. There have been several competitors out in the market vying for attention and users. Convo, Purple, and ZVRS are the major alternatives. Should Sorenson fail in the future, many of these competitors would pick up the slack and grow as a result. There might be a year or two of pain as those competitors adjust to the new users, but the marketplace for VRS is still very healthy.
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lets not forget VRS Reform coming out in the next few year
 
diehardbiker said:
There are only 4 other VRS providers that is certified. Don't forget we once had 51 VRS providers back then. What happened to those 46 providers? One got busted with red hand, that is John Yeh's provider, the rest, can't afford keep running. When 45 providers quit due inability to manage financially, leaving only 5 surviving provider and what does that means to you?

Now it is MUCH harder to start a VRS business than it used to be, that is because of certification requirement and revenue won't be in for months, or maybe years. Whoever wants start VRS business must have millions and millions of dollars before FCC can agree with them. That makes it much much less attractive for future investment, hurting our future growth. Don't you know "father of VRS" Ed Bossom (SP) already mentioned how difficult and costly to start a VRS business, with certificate requirements.
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The White Label providers, those 45 providers you speak of went out of business because they did not want to get certification with the FCC. Certification proves to the FCC that you are willing to follow their rules regarding VRS which is important. All VRS providers are now required to be certified or have pending certification in order to continue operation.

Many of the small 45 providers simply did not want to invest the time or money into making sure they followed the rules. That was their choice.

To date, only one provider has a 5 year certification with the FCC due to full compliance with all rules by the FCC, that provider is ZVRS.
 
Right, it is simply because it is very expensive to run a VRS business. That is why! Again, it is about money, right?

Don't forget 5 years certificate does not mean that they will hold for next 5 years, they CAN lose certificate as early as today if they made stupid mistake. Losing certificate is like losing millions of dollars, don't you know that? The idea of certification is pretty much like the concept of bonds. Same concept, you get 4 years drivers license, does that mean you WILL drive car for next 4 years no problem? What if tonight you got stupid and drink 10 cans of beer at the bar in just an hour and decided to drive home… Will you be able to continue drive if you get caught? I don't think so… FCC wants certificate because FCC won't lose a penny if one provider screws up and that is because money is inside the certification.

wri7913 said:
The White Label providers, those 45 providers you speak of went out of business because they did not want to get certification with the FCC. Certification proves to the FCC that you are willing to follow their rules regarding VRS which is important. All VRS providers are now required to be certified or have pending certification in order to continue operation.

Many of the small 45 providers simply did not want to invest the time or money into making sure they followed the rules. That was their choice.

To date, only one provider has a 5 year certification with the FCC due to full compliance with all rules by the FCC, that provider is ZVRS.
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It would make more sense if people left their emotions at the log in page.

I am a former Sorenson Employee, same as DieHardBiker is. Matter of fact, I was on the receiving end of the layoffs in 2010. Does that change my attitude, perception, or like for Sorenson ? Not at all.

Chapter 11 Bankruptcy is a TOOL that business use to reduce debt in order to continue providing services or products. Thousands of companies have utilized this TOOL and have gone on to become successful in their specific industries.

For the Bankruptcy example I like to emphasize on is the GM Bankruptcy of 2009. They took BILLIONS in bailout money from the Government of the United States. The American People took a loss of about $10 BILLION dollars when the Government sold the loans at a LOSS.

Today, GM continues to profit and pay dividends as if the Bankruptcy was just a bump in the road. I don't see/hear many DEAF people whining about GM as they do about Sorenson (who as a matter of fact, has not taken a PENNY of the American Taxpayers money). Those who SHOULD be complaining are the private equity firms and individuals who stand to lose THEIR money.

Now, with the business of bankruptcy explained above, here is the REAL DEAL as I see it. If Sorenson were to dissolve this afternoon at 2pm. What other VRS Company is able to absorb the 80%+ market share hat would be out there to be taken ? I do not see any other VRS Company that has the cash, the employees, the platform, the equipment, the ability to take on another company that is almost 10 times bigger than what they are. In other words, the death of Sorenson would be the death of our VP industry.
 
Do you understand what that paragraph means? It DOES apply to ALL VRS companies, what source other than FCC does VRS get? Almost NONE! Having companies relied 100% from government is extremely risky because government can decide, okay, here is cut, bye, leave company with nothing to keep up.

qwerty123 said:
not just sorenson, all vrs provider revenue is from FCC
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mikemike said:
Did you ever worked for a VRS?

Most Sorenson staff are part-timers. No benefits.

FCC compensations=TRS fund.
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Not true about most staff. it depends on how you view benefits too. and what position you work.

Jiro said:
are you still... "inside"?
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No he is not , but just like with ANYONE who left a company, they probably have freinds they made while working there and still maintain contact to say hi . Just like ANY companies, sometimes they make you sign papers about confidentiality.


I am just gonna say this -- diehardbiker is right . bankruptcy is a tool to manage finances if it comes down to it. Right now sorenson bankruptcy is not approved yet as they filed the plans and they need to get judge to sign off on it as they need a exit plan . Let me put it this way -- do you like it if you owe thousands of dollars and something in your business plans became skewed because of after fact events? and then have the investors or creditors call you constantly threaten with lawsuits to recover thier money ? If this happens, no more business as stuff gets repossessed. Bankruptcy allows you to buy time and still keep running till you get back on your feet.
 
Sorenson bankruptcy COULD hurt other VRS business easily.

Most businesses depends on investors to keep them afloat, and that is fact since America was born. Today, most investors would research on company and its industry as well meaning they will look at a company and check other companies of same field to see how they are doing financially and decide to invest or not. Because VRS industry is damn small, way way too small making them noticeable by most investors and if negative report is present, it will be noticed right away by investors no matter what.

If I am filthy rich and have billions of dollars in my pocket, I will NOT start a VRS business PERIOD. Why? Too risky! If a VRS company asked me to invest them, sure I will IF I see glowing reports from that company and other companies of same field. As in investor's eyes, they will check the past revenue and long term revenue, FCC have continue decline on giving revenue to VRS company, that to me and other investors a FAT red flag! That is telling me, and other investors I might not be able to get my money back. Also, seeing from 51 VRS providers to just measly 5, that is another FAT red flag to me and other investors and now with only 5, if ACMEVRS needs money and ask me or other investors and we would say "Hmmm, there are only 5 VRS company, one of them filed bankruptcy, and their only source of income is from government and government have decline in paying out every year, it does not look good… Okay forget investing ACMEVRS and the rest of VRS". Bye! So, because of that how can VRS company provide higher quality of service where they can't borrow more money, and because they can't maintain quality as expected by FCC, they can lose certification. Who is gonna lose the most? It is US the Deaf community! The truth is, investors only interest in growth, not decline!

In few years, if we do nothing… It may be too late and I hope it won't be too late.
 
No, there are still full time employees down there. But because of deep cuts, they no longer hire full time. How is it going to help deaf community?

Jiro said:
did you miss this post, DHB?
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diehardbiker said:
Sorenson bankruptcy COULD hurt other VRS business easily.

Most businesses depends on investors to keep them afloat, and that is fact since America was born. Today, most investors would research on company and its industry as well meaning they will look at a company and check other companies of same field to see how they are doing financially and decide to invest or not. Because VRS industry is damn small, way way too small making them noticeable by most investors and if negative report is present, it will be noticed right away by investors no matter what.

If I am filthy rich and have billions of dollars in my pocket, I will NOT start a VRS business PERIOD. Why? Too risky! If a VRS company asked me to invest them, sure I will IF I see glowing reports from that company and other companies of same field. As in investor's eyes, they will check the past revenue and long term revenue, FCC have continue decline on giving revenue to VRS company, that to me and other investors a FAT red flag! That is telling me, and other investors I might not be able to get my money back. Also, seeing from 51 VRS providers to just measly 5, that is another FAT red flag to me and other investors and now with only 5, if ACMEVRS needs money and ask me or other investors and we would say "Hmmm, there are only 5 VRS company, one of them filed bankruptcy, and their only source of income is from government and government have decline in paying out every year, it does not look good… Okay forget investing ACMEVRS and the rest of VRS". Bye! So, because of that how can VRS company provide higher quality of service where they can't borrow more money, and because they can't maintain quality as expected by FCC, they can lose certification. Who is gonna lose the most? It is US the Deaf community! The truth is, investors only interest in growth, not decline!

In few years, if we do nothing… It may be too late and I hope it won't be too late.
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and still - you're supporting a hearing-owned and hearing-run company... Convo is deaf-owned and deaf-run....
 
diehardbiker said:
No, there are still full time employees down there. But because of deep cuts, they no longer hire full time. How is it going to help deaf community?
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that would be Sorenson's fault for being greedy and making series of bad business decisions
 
I know a couple full time employee that is Deaf, and they are working up to Vice President. I would love to see one of them promote to vice president one day, and from what I see both are not far from that position and those two guys are awesome! And yes, one of them was my first supervisor when I first hired.
 
radioman said:
No he is not , but just like with ANYONE who left a company, they probably have freinds they made while working there and still maintain contact to say hi . Just like ANY companies, sometimes they make you sign papers about confidentiality.
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ah then he really has no clue about what's going on inside.
 
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