Report: Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing
Category: Multi-Level Marketing
Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing Company will eventually sale out like Kenny Trout did with Excel Communications and leave the reps with a downard spiral company Ripoff Lexington Kentucky
*Consumer Comment ..WOW!, I'll be praying for these skeptics (Hecklers).
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Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing
Fax: 859-422-7036
Lexington, Kentucky, 40503
U.S.A.
Submitted: 3/1/2005 10:38:10 PM
Modified: 7/15/2007 5:49:24 AM
Denson
Memphis, TennesseeIf you follow network marketing like I follow it Fortune Hi-Tech is going down the same yellow brick road like another company did in the early 90's Excel Communication.
Remember Excel hit the Billion $ mark in less than 8 years faster than Microsoft and how did they do it by capitalizing own the deregulation of public utilities mainly long-distance. But that was not what made it grow so fast it was 1 simple word Electricity yep I was guilty to I bought into the hype that Excel and its ind.reps would be making money everytime someone cut on a light or open there frigerator.
But years went by and nothing ever happen so Kenny Trought sold the company something he never said he would do and moved to Lexington Kentucky to breed horses. Now this brings me to the New Excel Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing a lot of the same faces same marketing plan but new name and new location not Dallas Texas were Excel was born but Lexington Kentucky were Excel's former top money earner and yes Kenny Trout's new home.
Fortune is now 4 years old and all money is made by you paying your membership 249$ which was 199 then 249 then 199 now 249 again why does it change the the kit are always the same? Also here comes the rip off this why Fortune says it is not a pyramid because customers has to be gather before any money is paid out you come sign me up I pay 249$ if I get 2 customers in 30 days the comapany will pay you the sponsor 100$ now listen to this the 2 customers can be you yep you heard right you can be the 2 customers.
So you see this is the grey area were they can get by. Also there is a position call trainer coach you pay fortune 399$ and you can get 40$ everytime you train a 249$ rep. but what happen is reps will not train and fax there trainer form in to get 40$. I witness a guy in Memphis train 10 people in 3 states in 10 minutes that 400$ that is a rip off there is no way for them to monitor it just another way for the company to pockett 360$ of your hard earn money so stay away from the cloning of Excel that by the way has now sold 3 times and now is bankrupt and no they have not sold 1 customer electricity but from what I hear they are having trouble keeping it on.
Thank you Rip Off report for people to voice their opinion and that is what it is a professional full-time networker's opinion I suggest if you are looking at this for a business check out the information for yourself. Thank you and god bless
Concerned Networker
Memphis, Tennessee
U.S.A.
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Updates & Rebuttals:
- Facts Beat LIES Every Day of the Week Ray [3/5/2005 12:54:06 PM]
- They will do business with a dead tree if it will generate dollars Larry [3/9/2005 12:08:32 AM]
- Why do people always hate on a good thing Marquise [3/22/2005 2:37:01 PM]
- FHTM needs to be upfront about everything...before joining, here's the lowdown. Alisa [1/18/2007 4:52:46 PM]
- Response to Excel and Fortune Ripoff Marie [4/15/2007 1:48:56 PM]
- WOW!, I'll be praying for these skeptics (Hecklers). Jason [7/14/2007 11:07:33 PM]
Facts Beat LIES Every Day of the Week
I will attempt to make sense of the NUMEROUS and glaring factual & grammatical errors of the original 'report'.
Excel was the youngest company ever listed on the NY Stock Exchange. A book, was written by a former adviser to Pres. Bush, about the rise of Excel. The above IS true though -- Excel reached a billion dollars faster than Microsoft, which is a testament to the power of network marketing rather than an indictment. Word of mouth advertising is the most powerful form of advertising there is.
Excel never got into electricity. But Excel did not build its billions on the promise of electricity. Excel made money because their Managers went out and signed up customers, customers who paid their bills every month because they had a personal direct relationship with an Excel rep that signed them up. THAT is how Excel made a billion dollars faster than any company before it, and that is why other companies such as Pre-Paid Legal, ACN, Xango, Fortune Hi-Tech, and many others sprang up in its wake.
There are so many inaccuracies in the above. Kenny Trout is currently one of the richest people in America, according to Forbes Magazine. He did sell Excel and retire to breed & sell horses. He did NOT move to Lexington Kentucky, and he has nothing to do with Fortune Hi-Tech.
Fortune was started by Paul Orberson, the #1 Excel rep of all-time. Paul was a broke high school basketball coach when he joined Excel in 1990. He went on for 3 years, and made over a MILLION dollars a month for over 30 straight months, and retired from Excel in 1996.
After 4 years of retirement, Paul decided to start a company that could give other motivated people the same opportunity that he had -- to change his financial future. After examining dozens of other MLM companies, and the strengths & weaknesses inherent in their compensation plans, Paul created a company that eliminated most of the headaches. Fortune was started in 2001, and is already at over $80 million in revenue. Unlike Excel, Fortune is 100% debt free, and is not tied to any ONE industry the way Excel was tied to telecom.
Fortune is only a marketing company. We market brand-name goods & services, and we help others start their own businesses with us. Ask yourself these questions:
Would Cingular/AT&T, the largest wireless company in the US, be doing business with a pyramid scheme? Would DISH Network, rated #1 in customer satisfaction by J.D. Power & Associates, be in business with a company that makes its money by scamming people?
Would CIGNA Dental Network do business with a disreputable company? What about Traveler's Group Insurance, one of the oldest and largest insurance companies in the US? Would they do business with Fortune if it was a scam?
Would there by an ABC PrimeTime Live video on Fortune's websites if it were a scam? Would a scam be launching into both Canada AND Europe in April? Would a scam be federally licensed and regulated in all 50 states? I could go on...
Fortune does not make any money from new managers signing into the business. When a new manager pays $249 to get in and then gathers 2 customers, it triggers over $800 in payments to the organization. The reason is that the 2 customers are usually gathered in good faith, and will generate way more revenue over time for the companies than a customer who sees an ad and then only sticks around for a few weeks/months. If Fortune were a scam, then they would not pay out more than they take in in entry fees. They actually LOSE money in the short term, but make up for it by retaining customers for their partners for long periods of time. Fortune has a 99% retention rate for some of its customers, which is almost unheard of in business, and which guarantees them a certain amount of revenue from their partners every single month.
MCI, Cigna, Cingular, DISH, etc... these companies that Fortune is partnered with, pay Fortune roughly $6 per month for the customers once they are already gathered. Contrast this with the MILLIONS these companies spend on advertising every single day, in the hopes of gathering a few customers. So by partnering with Fortune, these companies are doing smarter business. They only pay for customers once they are gathered by Managers, and not before. A SMARTER way of doing business, for our partners, and for Fortune.
Right now there are around 100,000 Fortune reps nationwide, and about 300,000 customers. Do the math: 300,000 x $6 = $1,800,000 a month x 12 months = $21 million a year x 4 years = $86 million dollars in revenue. The proof is in the facts. Get the facts straight before making biased statements and untruths.
And, what's also unsaid above is that FHTM has it in its company bylaws that it can only earn up to a certain amount of money per month after all bills & Managers have been paid. Anything that's left over from that nominal amount must be paid back out into the field. Fortune is the ONLY marketing company that has such a policy.
The Trainer Coach position is entirely optional, and NEVER has to be done by any Manager. It is not a requirement, nor is it forced upon any new Manager. It is there for those that wish to take a more active leadership role. Trainers are trained by corporate liasons, and they are paid $40 to make sure that new Managers understand how to go out and build this business.
If the person who witnessed a Fortune trainer sending in forms for reps that haven't been trained, that is unfortunate and should have been reported. It's bad for business, but there are bad apples in EVERY business and EVERY job, not just in network marketing. No business is perfectly run by perfect people, and there will always be those who would seek to exploit the system. There are many of us Fortune representatives operating with honesty and integrity, and no bad apples are going to undoe the work that has been done already.
As far as Excel goes, it is gone. Excel was bankrupted by a corrupt Board of Directors at its parent company, Vartec. As with all Boards, they were only interested in their bottom line. Vartec was in a lot of debt, and first tried to use Excel's revenue to pay the debt. Then they decided to cut ties with the Managers while retaining all the customers for themselves. It wasn't Excel's marketing plan that caused it to go under; it was the greed of a few unwelcome decision makers who treated Excel like a traditional business, but with no regard to the hard work of the Managers.
Another thing to remember about Excel is, it made a LOT of people a LOT of money in a short amount of time. Excel made more millionaires faster than any MLM company before it, because of the way compensated Managers for building organizations of customer gatherers. Fortune's comp. plan is 100% BETTER than Excel's was, so if history repeats itself (and it always does) Fortune is going to create tons of wealth for those that are willing to work hard to get it.
Fortune Hi-Tech has no Board of Directors. It has no debt. It has no unsavory & unwelcome decision makers who can only think of ways to line their pockets. It was started by one of the top money earners in the ENTIRE network marketing industry, and was created only as a financial vehicle for those that CHOOSE to pursue it. It is NOT for everybody, nor will everybody ever be a part of it. It is for those that are willing to first dream, and then are willing to pursue it.
If the above writer was a real full-time networker, then he/she would have reported more accurate information about this company and its opportunity. Clearly, this writer is someone who has a very negative bias towards Fortune Hi-Tech, and probably network marketing in general. I'd advise any readers to do their own due dilligence and get the information they will need to make a decision whether to move forward or not.
Thank you for your understanding and for allowing a forum to dispute such blatant ignorance.
They will do business with a dead tree if it will generate dollars
Deer fellow networker I see you have been decieved by the big name companies doing business with Fortune. I could call up a division of cingular right now and say I am starting a direct marketing or mlm company and would love to have company on board and you will never pay until the our direct marketing rep sign someone up they would say were do I sign.
You dont believe me look @ Conigen,E-star,Nexx and many more small mlm companies. So when say would these companies do business with a scam the answer is a YES.I have been is this industry foe 12 years and Fortune Hi-Tech is scamming the 249$ average Joe on the street. You could go to Conigen or Estar and sign up free and sale the same services for a bigger commision and have a free website.
Paul is money hungry he said he started this company because he was bored of retirement baloney. He started FHTM because of Kenny Trout backing it.I have researched there compensation plan and it is a duplicate of a good friend of mine Steve S.I know you probably are a rep and everything I have said is true and the truth hurts.
Why do people always hate on a good thing
I'm going to keep this short and sweet....
Above it was stated that Fortune was backed by Kenny Trout and that the compensation plan was identical to that os Steve Smith....well if Excel stayed in busniess for over 15 years AND it didn't go out of business VARTEC did....Excel was no pyramid scheme....and yes heads of companies make bad decisions and the rest of the company pays for it...but that is just business....in the 15 years Excel was in business it changed A LOT of people's lives.....and since a lot of people learned form the mistakes Excel made I see Fortune have much longevity and changing a lot more people's lives
FHTM needs to be upfront about everything...before joining, here's the lowdown.
I was invited to a meeting of this company. I watched the DVD before I went. I was pretty confused. I was told the cost of joining was $299. Well, that is alot of something I don't have. I was told I would get that back without too much trouble, just by getting others in. I would also need 10 points which I would aquire through companies they, in a word, 'promote'. Some of these companies we already have in our home. So, basically, I would have to pay for the other points. Get Dish TV or cingular. Well, this is like going to a grocery store and using coupons for something I don't really need. I left the meeting still confused.
Anyway, I did some checking on my own. Come to find out, I wasn't told everything. I was told that I would have to sign up for one of their products...they are promoting their vitamins. This will cost $43.99 each for men and womens pacs. I then have a web page setup fee of $19.95 and then I must pay a monthly fee of $19.95. So to get started I need $426.88. I also must pay a monthly fee of $107.93 ($87.98 vitamins, $19.95 web page) Hey, I can get a web page for less than $5 a month! Now, before someone comes back on this, yes these prices can differ. Maybe I don't want the vitamins. I'll get DishTV, or maybe a cell phone (neither of which I use in the first place). These items are for the 10 points I need.
Now, I need to get 3 others to join as well. After all this, I get 2-20% back from this company. I can pay more fees in order to train as a regional manager. Wait, sounds like a pyramid scheme to me...I am not saying this is a scam. I'm sure it is possible to make money on this, but I am in an area where most everyone is sceptical when it comes to marketing anything. I know. I did a marketing scheme under another group, which didn't work out. I guess some people could market anything if they thought about it for awhile. I know one guy had a website which was nothing more than asking people to send him $1. Go figure. BTW, what I am telling you is what I was told by a rep of this company. I see from these reports on this site that the money charged for this program differs...why? Does this mean that the prices will eventually increase after I join? I can't risk that.
Response to Excel and Fortune Ripoff
Excel was not a ripoff company. The only people ripped off were people who bought into the idea of it being a get rich quick without any WORK idea. It was not a pyramid scheme but a legitimate company that helped a lot of people get what they wanted if they were willing to work for it. I wanted and needed a car and extra money every month and I got that. When I felt like I no longer wanted or needed the business I stopped working it. My choice! Excel still exists as Excel Telcom but with no independent reps. Proves it was not a ripoff.
Fortune Hightech is not a rip off or a spin off of Excel. Fortune is a legitimate company with some good people working that business, yes some of them did come from Excel and none as far as I know have any complaints about the company. I chose not to work Fortune due to my schedule. I do however believe that some people need to get their information straight before they begin complaining. DO NOT JOIN ANY NETWORKING OR MULTI-LEVEL BUSINESS IF YOU DON'T PLAN TO WORK IT. There is no free ride but you can achieve your goals if you apply some effort. The system is designed to work for you if you WORK for yourself and use the system.
Grow up people it's about improving your lifestyle and helping your family if you want to do that and complaining less about what you are not well versed about. Get the fact straight before you report on any company. Some people are better employees than business owners. Yes Network Marketing is a business not a job, not a hobby and not for peole who don't want to WORK. M.B. Georgia
WOW!, I'll be praying for these skeptics (Hecklers).
There's one of two things wrong here, neither of the people paid atention during the company overview or maybe they did ask more questions? For one thing anything in life you do doesn't need to be about you! That's where everyone fails at so much in business because an unsaved person will desire money and depend money to provide for them. You don't have to bea customer of 'True essentials, dish, or your own webpage. The webpage is a replicated website of the corporate website, You wouldn't need to purchase these thingsit would just be easier to refer others if you were a customer of one of the services. This would make it easier to talk about with other people. More later,
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