In ‘response to all the censorship,’ Mike Lindell takes public his FrankSpeech streaming platform

The founder of Chanhassen-based MyPillow dreams of landing the broadcast network and its social media counterpart, FrankSocial, on a major stock exchange.

The Minnesota Star Tribune
September 6, 2024 at 4:34PM
My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell speaks at a Trump Vance rally at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center on July 27 in St. Cloud. (Glen Stubbe/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

MyPillow founder and election fraud crusader Mike Lindell recently took his FrankSpeech media platform public through a merger with a holding company.

Wyoming-based InCapta went through a “reverse acquisition” and reverse stock split to merge with Lindell’s company, now the combined entity FrankSpeech Network Inc.

Lindell founded FrankSpeech and later its social media counterpart, FrankSocial, in 2021 after Twitter kicked him off the platform for repeating unproven election fraud claims.

“It was a response to all the censorship that came when speaking out about Jesus, the vaccine and elections,” Lindell said. “I want to go to the next level to be able to keep expanding that. It’s a great business, and I think our country needs multiple platforms so people have choices.”

The platform currently has three 24/7 streaming channels featuring right-wing voices, including Rudy Giuliani and, until his death this summer, Lou Dobbs. The company said it attracts millions of monthly viewers.

While FrankSpeech is working on listing its stock on a major exchange, for now, it trades on the over-the-counter (OTC) market under the symbol INCTD, which will change later this month to FSBN.

Financial analysts urge caution when investing in OTC stocks, since they are less regulated than those listed via Nasdaq or the New York Stock Exchange.

“The biggest difference between an OTC stock and a listed stock is the amount of publicly available information about the company,” according to Charles Schwab. “Information about OTC companies can be difficult to find, making them more vulnerable to investment fraud schemes.”

Ryan Zywotko, director of investments at Caissa Wealth Strategies, said transparency has improved from the “sketchy” days of OTC in previous decades. But low trading volumes and low liquidity in OTC stocks can also make for much wider bid/ask spreads that can lead to price manipulation.

“You’re not getting the big, institutional, serious investors,” he said. “OTC is not disastrous by any means, but it’s certainly muddier waters.”

Zywotko added while listing on a major exchange puts a company in the “investable universe” fund managers consider, there’s no guarantee major investments will follow.

InCapta has been filing quarterly reports, which show the company had about $37,000 in revenue in its most recent quarter and an “accumulated deficit” of $141 million. InCapta warned its 481 shareholders at the time “these factors raise substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern.”

The 46-year-old company has been involved in numerous ventures, including comics and movies, and as of June, it owned a grocery wholesale business and the Leading Edge Radio Network, according to filings.

FrankSpeech’s headquarters will be in Colorado. Lindell said the management team is handling what will be a long and complicated journey to up-listing to a major stock exchange.

“It’s a very different environment [than MyPillow,] and I’m learning a lot of things myself,” Lindell said.

Chaska-based MyPillow, along with Lindell, remains embroiled in lawsuits voting machine companies brought to fight “defamatory falsehoods” that led to death threats against employees, according to the suits.

Right-wing-friendly social media outlets like Rumble, Trump Media and X have had a rough go on the stock market in recent months.

Asked whether the FrankSpeech platform competes with Truth Social, former President Donald Trump’s social media company that has seen its stock price plummet since going public earlier this year, Lindell said, “I don’t think they’re a direct competitor.”

“We’re more a competitor to CNN or Fox News or Newsmax,” he said. “Our biggest draw is our TV lineup.”

Lindell, who recently shaved his mustache to go incognito at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, said his work on “securing ... elections” will continue.

He also said the signature mustache is already back on his upper lip.

about the writer

Brooks Johnson

Food and Manufacturing Reporter

Brooks Johnson is a business reporter covering Minnesota’s food industry, 3M and manufacturing trends.

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