Extreme Investing

Oh, the temptation.

What if you had bought Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) at its IPO? How about Intel (Nasdaq: INTC)? What if you could find the next Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM) in the incubation stage?

Well, a tiny wireless startup is dangling this carrot and playing to a frothy market with stories of riches untold. Calypso Wireless (CLYW.PK) laid out a tempting draw in a press release yesterday. Calypso is trumpeting a new patent it received that it promises will revolutionize the global telecommunications industry.

The solution claims a seamless method for wireless phones to utilize multiple networks -- including Wi-Fi hot spots in places such as Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX) and Borders (NYSE: BGP). Many wireless carriers have been itching to integrate the popularity of broadband wireless access with their voice offerings, but a workable solution has so far proven elusive.

The announcement was enough to send the stock up over 16% on the day to $1.28 a stub. More than a million shares traded hands -- about a million more than most trading days. Investors were apparently excited when the company said it would aggressively pursue a Qualcomm-like business model of licensing the patent for revenue. After learning more about the company, though, I'd give them a snowball's chance at success.

Of course, one could argue that even the best companies were once frail and tiny with only a dream (and no revenue). But there are dramatic differences in what makes the Intels and Qualcomms so successful -- one is the people. It's not just a great technology or a patent; it's the intellectual talent behind them.

Case in point: Qualcomm created a stir in the late 1980s with a revolutionary technology for cellular phones called CDMA. But the company was not just a flash in the pan. The senior team was widely regarded as the top minds in communications and already developed a hugely successful company called Linkabit prior to Qualcomm.

Calypso Wireless, on the other hand, does not carry the same pedigree. The young management team and fragmented nature of its capitalization (and struggle to even list on the OTC market) do not make a strong impression to a Foolish investor.

Other than an indicator of the market's headiness, investors are better off staying far away from such temptations.

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Motley Fool contributor Dave Mock will go 100% cash if he sees a new reality series Extreme Investing come to prime time. He owns shares of Intel and Starbucks.