It has been just over a day now since drastic measures were taken place at a company I helped start about 10 months ago.  I was let go – a supposed executive and part owner.  Someone who helped one of the young owners start a website and worked hard developing it without pay for over a year so I could partner with him on the website.

 

I write to educate others that they may see warning signs and be guarded against some of the snares I let myself get entrapped in.  I do not use the name of the company nor the names of the owners because I am a man of integrity and honesty and I do not believe in slander.  However, I believe that much is amiss and this is far from the end of this situation.

 

August 2007, I notified Ancestry.com that I would be leaving for another company where I was promised executive management and ownership.  Ancestry.com is a great company to work for.  They provided me with great pay and benefits, and the working environment was reasonable (except for a few ergonomic issues).  The two guys that were investing money to start the company were/are young and inexperienced.  But I’ve known one of them for a few years and we started a website together that was pretty successful that was being ‘merged’ into this new company.

 

Before I started work at this new company, the two young guys who were the main owners had purchased a building that was being fixed up to get ready for the initial group of people to start working.  Even a couple weeks before work was to start, the building was run down, garbage was everywhere and it was still in need of carpeting and other fitting.  This was warning sign number 1, that there was not much preparation or thought going into the initial launch of the company.  I should have realized that these two guys were young and inexperienced and were saying and doing whatever it took to pursue their dreams of being multi-millionaires.

 

But I continued on happily, remaining optimisitc, and in the end, I had to extend my work at Ancestry.com another week because the building was not quite ready to work in yet.  Eventually it was and my twin brother and I setup all the networking for the building which took about 10 hours on a Saturday for which we were paid lunch and that’s it.  This was warning sign number 2.

 

Now keep in mind, all this time, I was a part owner of a website that me and one of the ‘owners’ had been working on.  It was paying me a very good extra income each month, surpassing $5,000 monthly in addition to my job at Ancestry.com.  Unfortunately, this income ceased and I accepted a meager salary to start working at this company for which benefits were promised.  But it wasn’t until many months into the future that the promised benefits even started to surface.  This was warning sign number 3.

 

My twin brother and I started doing the development for the entire company and started with our own offices.  Over time, we were eventually moved out of our offices to make way for other people coming in.  Slowly but surely, we were being brushed to the side, but asked to urgently work and as such this was warning sign number 4, that we were just a means to an end.

 

There was another company that was part of the new company doing internet coaching.  There were two brothers who owned roughly 49 percent of that company.  They were unethical, unreasonable, and greedy.  I’m not quite sure why they were given a chance to come aboard and take part in all this.  Evntually their behavior was caught fully and they were dismissed.  This was warning sign number 5, and that is how on earth two people like this were given a 49 percent ownership in a company.

 

We eventually moved into a newer building and our development team was promptly moved into an old radio room with no windows.  Once again, brushed aside, we tried to remain positive and optimistic.  Our ownerships at this point were still vague.  We had been constantly time after time, hounding the two young owners as to what our ownerships were.  We were promised much, but in the end, I had a 20% stake in one of the companies and my twin brother 5%.  But who knows what this really met.  This took many months after the start of this company.  This was warning sign number 6.

 

Eventually development got moved into a conference room where we at least could put up some cubicle walls.  But it was evident that development was becoming less and less important.  We were hounded to work on stuff, but over time, the focus was shifting to getting more sales.  A head sales manager was hired and offered a salary 4 times what I was getting.  This was warning sign number 7.

 

You’d think that with all these warning signs that I would have made better choices.  Well, my twin brother and I must have met with the young owners 50 times expressing concerns, asking for our roles/ownerships to be hashed out more.  But everything was always delayed.  Eventually, an ‘angel investor’ was brought into the picture and because he was investing the most money, he gained the majority say in what was to be done with the company.  This was warning sign number 8.

 

Keep in mind that I gave up a good job with good benefits with a good salary and bonuses.  I had an extra income between $3,000 and $5,000 coming in each month from my bonus work on the website I helped start with one of the young owners.  It can definitely be said that I gave up much and gained not much in return.  In addition, my wife did some work for this new company for which she was never paid.  I had to hound one of the young owners to pay money he owed me from work I did over six months ago.  This was warning sign number 9.

 

An accountant was hired for the new company and a focus on money was being emphasized.  Every time I talked to the young owners it was always ‘risk/reward’ determines what you get.  In their minds, if you did not risk money, you did not risk anything.  To this I say, ‘baloney’.  I’ve lost roughly $50,000 a year from bonus pay and the salary I was making at this new company.  I gave my time and talents.  To say that is not a risk is ridiculous.  This was warning sign number 10.

 

In the end, it was an endless struggle to try and work out ownership and roles within the company.  But what it came down to was trimming the company down and using the website I helped create as a ‘cash cow’ to help fund this new company.  As a supposed 25% owner of one of the companies, my voice has fallen on deaf ears.  Now I see this company being run into the ground, it’s value being stripped away and nothing to be seen from it.  This is warning sign number 11.

 

So what does this mean for you reading this?  It means do not despair.  I am still optimistic and positive.  A burning inside me continues to make drjerm.com the place for being educated, uplifted, and inspired.  I believe in time that this site will be well known around the world and that my inspiring stories and educating articles will have helped millions.  I hope that the thoughts I’ve shared help at least some people avoid being used as a means to an end to further less talented people’s greedy ambitions.

 

I have grown a burning in me and a sadness as two young people, who have said and done whatever it takes to get people to be a means to an end as they seek to become multi-millionaires for a company that is only going down hill now.  I feel betrayed, but at the same time know that I am at fault for allowing this to happen.  However, I’ve learned some valuable lessons that will strengthen me for the future and I will move onward with courage and determination.  I hope the seriousness of my tone conveys a message that will protect others from what happened to me.

 

Nevertheless I know that I am one man and have room for error in my thought process.  But I also know I am intelligent and smart.  May those who have read this learn from what I have experienced.

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