The driving philosophy of corporate America used to be based on the principle of in-house development. If it wasn’t made in-house, companies simply weren’t interested. Companies wanted things over which they had full control, and from which they could enjoy 100% of the profits. Total independence. Total control. If a good idea came along that wasn’t developed in-house, the temptation was to find some way to tweak it and claim that it was developed in-house.

All of this led to some pretty nasty lawsuits. One of the best known cases, popularized in the movie Flash Of Genius, was that of Robert Kearns. Kearns was a Detroit engineer who developed the electronic intermittent windshield wiper for automobiles, getting his first patent for it in 1967. When he failed to get the major automakers to buy his idea and then saw them come

Understanding the minds of innovative people as well as working to develop new concepts, products and/or ideas is a difficult process in any environment. Mesh this with trying to develop a profitable Micro-Cap company and the investment process becomes quite a bit more “interesting.” There are, however, certain signs in a developing Micro-Cap to keep an eye out for. First among these is “variation and adaptability.” Being able to have access to sources of information that can spot these subtleties is the key, but understanding that a company is working in this mode is the real deal.

To demonstrate, consider Kraig Biocraft Laboratories (KBLB.OB). This small developmental bio company started with a polymer insertion process that allows for the generation of spider silk, a material with exceedingly strong physical properties. In this regard, however, the process was also found to hold other opportunities for additional properties to be added to

Kraig Biocraft Laboratories’ prospects to develop a “super fiber” that can be sold into the technical textiles industry are exciting. The company’s research and development efforts are based on solid science that has been developed by some of the world’s leading genetic researchers. Kraig Biocraft is moving ever closer to the successful production of transgenic species to produce commercial quantities of spider silk.

The physical properties of spider silk are quite remarkable and commercial production of these fibers will be viewed as a major breakthrough by the scientific community. Such a development would likely yield significant coverage in the general business and popular press sectors, offering Kraig Biocraft Laboratories significant public relations exposure, which could push the price of its shares to much higher levels.

One of the major hurdles that most biotechnology companies must overcome is the FDA approval process. Fortunately for Kraig Biocraft,

As of 1:52 PM EST, the Dow Jones industrials are down 133.97 at 7,923.84, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index is down 16.32 at 842.41, and the Nasdaq composite index is down 30.59 to 1,622.72. However, two of our featured stocks are doing quite well, with the others in the green or slightly pulling back after a run.

Kraig Biocraft Laboratories (KBLB.OB) is currently up 29.41% on 4,500 traded shares. With a market cap of approx. $11 million, the stock’s 52 week range is $0.07 to $0.42. KBLB is trading at $0.22.

Universal Tracking Solutions (UTRK.OB) is currently up 33.33% on 47,114 traded shares. With a market cap of less than $200,000, the stock’s 52 week range is $0.02 to $0.57. UTRK is trading at $0.04.

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