{ "docId": "019dd923-622c-750b-8b9a-4b91788fc785", "docSlug": "5fadb686cc03", "documentTitle": "Twist Bioscience (TWST)", "authorId": "58_Scorpion_Capital", "authorName": "Scorpion Capital", "documentKindSlug": "activist-deck", "documentKindLabel": "Activist deck", "sourceTypeSlug": "short_seller", "sourceTypeLabel": "Short seller", "presentationDate": "2022-11-15 00:00:00", "orientation": "landscape", "aspectRatio": 1.2941177, "pageNumber": 60, "pageCount": 236, "prevPage": 59, "nextPage": 61, "slideType": "expose_contradiction", "function": "expose_contradiction", "density": "dense", "nDataPoints": 4, "notes": "The slide uses direct quotes from former employees to validate the thesis of unsustainable pricing.", "elementsJson": [ "paragraph", "quote_block", "footnote" ], "metadataConfidence": 1, "imagePath": null, "slideHref": "/slides/019dd923-622c-750b-8b9a-4b91788fc785/60", "deckHref": "/decks/019dd923-622c-750b-8b9a-4b91788fc785", "deckJsonHref": "/decks/019dd923-622c-750b-8b9a-4b91788fc785.json", "deckAnchorHref": "/decks/019dd923-622c-750b-8b9a-4b91788fc785#slide-60", "components": [ { "bbox": null, "kind": "callout", "text": "Twist’s strategy is focused on buying market share, hoping the economics will catch up to them", "attrs": null, "subkind": null, "toolName": "Visual emphasis", "toolSlug": "visual-emphasis", "confidence": null, "componentId": "019dd953-0932-77cf-bfe8-6eeeb7ee2fa8", "frameworkName": null, "frameworkSlug": null }, { "bbox": { "h": 0.15, "w": 0.9, "x": 0.05, "y": 0.08 }, "kind": "paragraph", "text": "An ex-employee in product/sales who was at Twist during launch outlined the textbook price dumping approach that was employed – “take market share” by slashing pricing and “assume you could raise the price later,” which they were never able to do given that their products are a pure commodity. An ex-executive concurred, replying “Oh, of course” when we asked if Twist was simply trying to buy market share.", "attrs": null, "subkind": "paragraph", "toolName": null, "toolSlug": null, "confidence": null, "componentId": "b609500b-39a1-4fa1-b526-dabb32645acf", "frameworkName": null, "frameworkSlug": null }, { "bbox": { "h": 0.25, "w": 0.9, "x": 0.05, "y": 0.52 }, "kind": "quote", "text": "Twist’s strategy is focused on buying market share, hoping the economics will catch up to them. Q: “So, you’re saying they were trying to buy market share?” A: “Oh, of course. As a new entrant, they were trying to penetrate, but they had on their belt the fact that they intuitively at the beginning, look, we can do so much more in such a short amount of time that it makes logical sense if the economics play out.” – Ex-Twist executive", "attrs": null, "subkind": "testimonial", "toolName": null, "toolSlug": null, "confidence": null, "componentId": "1f55002d-5a00-4d7c-9980-e1107ed2154b", "frameworkName": null, "frameworkSlug": null }, { "bbox": { "h": 0.25, "w": 0.9, "x": 0.05, "y": 0.25 }, "kind": "quote", "text": "Twist entered the market with a textbook price dumping strategy, offering prices 50-60% below average, hoping to slash prices and raise them later, which never happened. “So, we were building—and we had four salespeople in North America and one or two salespeople in Europe that were just starting to get to the market. I think the strategy was to take market share and assume you could raise the price later. Average cost for a non-complex gene was somewhere between 18 cents and 25 cents a base, and they were charging 10 cents a base.” -Ex-employee in senior product management and sales leadership roles", "attrs": null, "subkind": "testimonial", "toolName": null, "toolSlug": null, "confidence": null, "componentId": "ca407b26-5d07-4e4c-bc23-84676bbc7715", "frameworkName": null, "frameworkSlug": null }, { "bbox": null, "kind": "quote", "text": "So, we were building—and we had four salespeople in North America and one or two salespeople in Europe that were just starting to get to the market. I think the strategy was to take market share and assume you could raise the price later. Average cost for a non-complex gene was somewhere between 18 cents and 25 cents a base, and they were charging 10 cents a base. — Ex-employee in senior product management and sales leadership roles; Oh, of course. As a new entrant, they were trying to penetrate, but they had on their belt the fact that they intuitively at the beginning, look, we can do so much more in such a short amount of time that it makes logical sense if the economics play out. — Ex-Twist executive", "attrs": null, "subkind": null, "toolName": "Authority citation", "toolSlug": "authority-citation", "confidence": null, "componentId": "019dd953-0932-77cf-bfe8-70f7f4c04b33", "frameworkName": null, "frameworkSlug": null }, { "bbox": { "h": 0.03, "w": 0.3, "x": 0.05, "y": 0.95 }, "kind": "source-note", "text": "Source: Scorpion Capital consultation calls with experts", "attrs": null, "subkind": null, "toolName": null, "toolSlug": null, "confidence": null, "componentId": "1ab34201-f43a-4de3-b40b-b596621c2dc1", "frameworkName": null, "frameworkSlug": null } ], "metrics": [], "tools": [], "frameworks": [ { "name": "fraud-exposure", "slug": null, "matchId": "07bd8a31-b99b-4418-8ec7-bdf852ec3698", "evidence": "The slide uses expert testimony to expose a predatory pricing strategy that contradicts the company's public narrative.", "confidence": 0.9 } ], "arcBeats": [ { "to": 70, "from": 55, "beatId": "f840f37b-dc3b-4f69-a41b-48aecbb588b4", "arcName": "Overcoming the Monster", "arcSlug": "overcoming-monster", "beatName": "Presentation of the thesis", "beatSlug": null, "evidence": "Clear articulation of the case against Twist", "position": 3, "confidence": 0.8, "parentBeatName": null, "parentBeatSlug": null } ], "loops": [], "imagePathAlt": null, "thumbSrc": null, "thumbSrcAlt": null, "locked": true }