Randy Schroeder has just left Agel for MonaVie and before the ink was dry on the Alleged multi-million dollar MonaVie signing agreement, Agel had their attorneys filing briefs against Randy, Tara, and MonaVia. (Current Injunction in place)

Now this is not the first time MonaVie has attracted million dollar MLM big hitters. Earlier this year Amway millionaire Orrin Woodward (founder of T.E.A.M.) signed with MonaVie and Amway attorneys filed several lawsuits on behalf of Amway distributors worldwide.

See as a former network marketing executive I have been where these two great CEOs are at right now. And the one thing I learned is that there are NEVER Any Winners in situations like these.

Having investigated all parties involved I can tell you that each one has those who dislike them, and those who think they can walk on water. I am not here to decide who is right or wrong, Lord knows I t, have my own yard to mow.

But I do know that we all need to pray for ALL of those involved. As I wrote above, I ran a mid-size MLM company a few years ago, and in 2001, entered into a situation just like this. We invested millions in legal fees to win our case, and prove our point… We lost the love, respect and most of all the Trust of our distributors.

I pray this does not happen to these two great companies.

Never Give Up,

Troy Dooly
The Maverick Leader

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1. 
   john said...
   11:25 am - November 26th, 2008

   Monavie is showing how classy they really are when they need to BUY their distributor base. They started it all by making Brig Hart (former Amway hitter) their founding distributor…then to keep the momentum they went after Orrin Woodward…and since their growth is stalling they have now brought in this “Randy Schroeder” guy.

   If these guys are getting a “signing agreement” for joining Monavie that is ridiculous…and THE reason they are joining Monavie.

   It’s CLEAR these guys are joining due to the “signing bonus” because Monavie’s product is overpriced for the consumer therefore sales are only happening due to the business opportunity (distributors buying their qualifying autoship or ordering more product to give away for potential distributors).

   Add in the fact that Monavie is a binary comp plan which is a recipe for BIG attrition. The “spillover” concept is smoke & mirrors because no matter how big your “power leg” gets you still need to build your other (smaller) leg. Because of this, a distributor will need to build at the minimum 13 distributors on their smallest leg (therefore minimum 26+ total) in order to break even on a 1-case autoship. If it takes the average distributor a minimum of 26 reps in their downline to break even on auto-ship…they are NOT going to stick around long if they can’t retail product to the consumer which is EXACTLY the situation with Monavie. The consumer is not going to buy juice every month for $160.

   Monavie’s compensation plan is DESIGNED for the HITTER because they can get their organization to cycle new distributors in as others go out.

   All this being said…why would these guys join a company that has a TON of “juice war” competition and a comp plan that is not balanced for the new distributor to get into profit quickly and pays well for the hitter too?

   Plus, Monavie claims to pay out 50% to the field, however, they water down that number because a 1-case purchase of $130 generates 100 PV (point volume)…therefore the payout on true sales per $1 is not 50% but rather 38.5%. Sadly, prospects will hear 50% and assume that is on sales when it’s REALLY on PV.

   John
   http://www.immunesystemcompany.com

2. 
   James Holmes said...
   10:33 pm - November 26th, 2008

   Troy - I think that leaders must have the integrity to stand by the statements they make on stage. Circumstances change and those who have proven themselves receive offers and “opportunities.” I think it is less an issue that they leave and essential that they leave with integrity - it’s how they leave. If a leader takes an offer they shouldn’t deny it and they should accept the “signing bonus” as compensation for what they have accomplished and turn away from raiding their former company down-lines.

   When acted upon with integrity a leader can move on and save himself and both companies legal fees and disruption of their team members. It seems the courts will settle MonaVie’s issues and no doubt the outcome will be closely followed.

   Great subject.

   James Holmes

3. 
   Troy said...
   9:50 pm - December 1st, 2008

   I agree leaders must have integrity.

   Personally, I think we are in the middle of the MLM Juice Wars, and it will be interesting to see which company comes out on top.

   I also believe that when you get to many A+ leaders running in the same pack, that sooner or later they are going to fight to see who is the king of the pack.

   And that has me very worried, because it will cause bad press for all of us.

   I pray that there is more to these moves than “just the money.”

   I learned a long time ago that when I signed onto the Brand, it was because I believed in the Brand and what they stood for.

4. 
   Andy Hummel said...
   3:08 am - December 6th, 2008

   Hi Troy,

   As a leader with Xango, I can vouch for your statement that Xango has never thrown money after leaders from other companies.

   In fact, after being with Xango for 5 years, one of the things I’ve come to appreciate about the owners are their ethics and integrity. Xango has never paid for other big hitters to move over. Xango has grown the company from within with new blood and still hit a Billion in their first 5 years, which in itself has been amazing.

   On a couple of occassions when a big hitter actually asked Xango “for money to stay”, the owners showed them the door and wished them well with their next ventures. Thats ethics.

   Its interesting to watch MonaVie. Their corporate culture appears to be focused on greed, and greed alone. If you google Dallen Larsen, the founder, you will find a number of run ins with the FDA, and the FTC. I think it important for people to know who they are “partnering with”.

   A good friend of mine, who is one of the very top income earners with MonaVie, visited me at my home recently. He said before MonaVie launched, they purposefully got all of Xango’s tools and marketing material, layed them all out on the boardroom, and decided to copy the material the best they could. He said after they did that, they “looked for a fruit” to bottle up. Figuring if Xango was #1, all they needed to do was copy. Nothing original there.

   From what I can gather about MonaVie, they were a comp plan in search of a product. This is quite opposite of Xango’s approach. They were first a product (mangosteen) and they built a comp plan around that.

   In MLM, it seems like companies are either all about the money, or all about the product. Its nice when you can find one that’s balanced.

   For awhile, I was running into MonaVie everywhere. And now, all of a sudden, they have dissappeared. All the reps I have run into over the last few years have all quit. Interesting.

   No wonder MonaVie needs to continue throwing good money out there to keep attracting so called big hitters. Sure, its a strategy that will work for awhile, but as the masses find out just how difficult it is to make money in a binary, they’ll be just as likely to implode when their fuel has been spent.

   Anyway Troy, its nice to see the service you are providing in the form of a blog for those of us in the field to share our points of view. Thanks for all you do.

   Believe and Achieve,

   Andy Hummel
   http://www.WealthBuildersInternational.com