Finding micro cap stocks

Hi Tony - I tend to find ideas for stocks in a lot of different places and then do research from there. Typically, it might be something someone says on a conference call that makes me look for a competitor or supplier who might benefit or it could just be a macro thesis that I have and I then go and look for industries that would benefit. I also use various stock screeners like the one on Yahoo! and Bloomberg that allow me to filter by market cap and by other criteria such as having more assets than debt, limited goodwill positions, rising sales, positive earnings, etc.

Very rarely will I look at a stock that I feel like someone is trying to "sell" me. Whether that means a active message board, a broker or articles that seem like they are slanted or about hype. The best way to turn me off to an idea is to tell me that I need to buy now.

Since I'm typically seeking value, I prefer to find the idea on my own and then do research from there.

As far as the pink sheets go, I won't even consider a stock that trades on them. If a company isn't going to do regular filings, it's a deal killer for me. If one of the stocks I owned went to the pink sheets, I'd probably sell, but typically I go into these positions understanding that 100% loss is possible and will refuse to sell even when I'm down (with the exception of some tax loss situations) I do own one over the counter stock and while I've lost a bundle on that one, I feel more comfortable with it because it's in a highly regulated industry that would make it tough for management to commit fraud. Doesn't mean that the company can't go bankrupt, but I'd rather make a bad bet on actual business results then realize that I'm helping to fund an endless underwriting. In the past my other OTCBB investments have done very well, but you need to research their management about 20 times more than you would a small cap.