S02.E13: West End Coffee Company

[Rebecca Schramm]

GlowLights~ My hope for resolution~ At this point, I just want to close this chapter, sharpen my pencil and prepare for the next chapter of what is my life.... And no, I can't really say I'm "Happy" to sell my shares and walk away, I still love WEnd~ it's a Great Company and Great Product, but I guess it's just not what I am supposed to be doing... ??? I do believe everything happens for a reason... and when one door closes another opens... and that is exciting!

[RadioActiveRich]

To the bolded part.... why do you believe she could have run the business better without him? As opposed to him running it without her? Just curious.

 

I'm wondering how you propose she take control of running the company and just send John his profits. By what mechanism would she take that directorship back after she already willingly signed it over, let alone "screw John over before he screws her" when he's already terminated her? She signed it over, then he fired her,  she's left with the 18% and her lawyer is trying to work out a deal. (Rebecca - what resolution are you hoping for? Would you be happy to sell your 18% and walk away?)

 

I think when it comes to running the day to day business she did more of it than he did. Of course, she'd need someone to come in and sell, but even holding on to (and perhaps expanding) existing accounts is possible if you service them well. Secondly, as I recall she hired her son to be the second roaster when John wanted some dude from Home Depot or something. Also, in comparison he may have looked better at the sales meeting, but I wasn't impressed. Marcus saved his ass during that meeting only to have him blow the account off anyway. Not sure what you were seeing that made you feel like he could run a business, but I didn't see it.

 

Having said all that, my ultimate reason is that I don't believe a guy who screws over his own wife can do much in life. He needs to grow up and figure out what's important before I'd trust him to run a lemonade stand. That's my opinion anyway.

 

As for your last question, I wasn't aware that she'd signed over the seat on the board of the pension. If that's true - she's done and my advice would have to be to walk away from the coffee company. If not, then she fires him from the company and runs it without him.

[RadioActiveRich]

I'm starting to wonder if middle aged people going into business together is the older version of let's have a baby. It will make us closer? Or make it harder to leave?

 

Let me see if I can say what I'm thinking without sounding like a complete jerk.

 

I think when two people have a baby just to be closer, the baby isn't really the part of the relationship they're focused on. That sucks for the kid and usually doesn't do the repair people think it will.

 

When it comes to the business, unlike the baby I think the business IS the part they want - probably more than the person they're partnering with. So ... yeah .... it turns out predictably. Still a good comparison on your part - differences notwithstanding. ;)

[Amarsir]

If there's one moral I hope The Profit passes on to potential entrepreneurs, it's this: Partnerships are VERY messy. No matter how well you're getting along at the start, draw up your paperwork like some day you'll hate each others' guts. Run a background check, get separate lawyers, and have clauses for everything from IPO to buyout to dissolution. If you can't work out those details up front, it won't get easier later.

[RadioActiveRich]

If there's one moral I hope The Profit passes on to potential entrepreneurs, it's this: Partnerships are VERY messy. No matter how well you're getting along at the start, draw up your paperwork like some day you'll hate each others' guts. Run a background check, get separate lawyers, and have clauses for everything from IPO to buyout to dissolution. If you can't work out those details up front, it won't get easier later.

 

Or ... and I'm just spit balling here ... you don't get in ANY type of relationship with a-holes. Background checks, lawyers, blah blah blah are no substitute for being careful who you let into your life. Seriously, the idea that we can't do business (or life) without lawyers is too hard to accept.

[glowlights]

Not sure what you were seeing that made you feel like he could run a business, but I didn't see it.

 

<snip>

 

As for your last question, I wasn't aware that she'd signed over the seat on the board of the pension. If that's true - she's done and my advice would have to be to walk away from the coffee company. If not, then she fires him from the company and runs it without him.

 

To the first point: He's running a business right now. Whether he's doing a great job of it will remain to be seen. As for me, I saw enough pluses and minuses on both sides that I think it was a wash in terms of skills, based on this show. (Sorry, Rebecca. I do hope you find something better.) But I'm always interested in what other people see.

 

To the second point: Rebecca said in her own posts here that she signed it over and he fired her. Fingers crossed the lawyers can work it out. Messy.

[RadioActiveRich]

To the first point: He's running a business right now. Whether he's doing a great job of it will remain to be seen. As for me, I saw enough pluses and minuses on both sides that I think it was a wash in terms of skills, based on this show. (Sorry, Rebecca. I do hope you find something better.) But I'm always interested in what other people see.

 

To the second point: Rebecca said in her own posts here that she signed it over and he fired her. Fingers crossed the lawyers can work it out. Messy.

 

 

Not trying to press you, but what did you see him do well? I agree about bad on both sides, but can you name something he did that he did well? Because I seriously can't remember a single thing.

[caligirl50]

This guy is the angriest man on television, by far.  I hope all Rebecca gets her investment $ out and gets the hell away from that guy.

[Takerholicx5]

After John got caught out about calling brokers and then said he wouldn't sell to Marcus, Marcus said he's getting into coffee either way and he will now make it his business to kick John's butt (in business). Cringe, cringe and cringe.

 

Why that scene was deleted, I have no clue. Personally, that should've ended the episode IMO. Let it serve as a lesson: you don't f**k with a billionaire and expect to get away with it.

[caligirl50]

and has Marcus gotten into the coffee business?

[septicptx0104]

Can I just say, when Becky and John talked about their love triangle, I don't think I've ever seen Marcus blush that much. His face turned redder than a tomato. I mean, he's blushed a bit during Worldwide Trailers when Nancy was flirting with him (Trust me Marcus,if someone like her tried to hit on me, I'd need a shower too. Check Marcus' Twitter if you don't know what I'm talking about) and during Blues Jean Bar when Lady mentioned the setting for the negotiation feeling like a date (one of his cuter moments IMO) but that was just damn.

[Showthyme]

Looks like Rebecca has stopped talking (read posts above). Makes me think that she was able to sell her portion and was given a gag order. 

John was such a sleazebag. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

Marcus invested in the coffee business with the Red Beard man, but I don't know how that turned out.    

[Arthur Jury]

A couple of observations …

1)      During the show, Becky say she handles “sales and client management” when asked by Marcus.  But a “Rebecca Schramm” posts here and states “For the record. I have NEVER (well once-Larkins) been on a sales call”.  Well, which is it ???
 

2)      After Marcus walked, does he get this check  for $200,000 back ? There seems to have been little or no expenditure of that money, so did Schramm give back the check or did he say he spent it and Marcus loses the dough ?

[ae2]

On 3/7/2019 at 12:59 PM, Arthur Jury said:

2)      After Marcus walked, does he get this check  for $200,000 back ? There seems to have been little or no expenditure of that money, so did Schramm give back the check or did he say he spent it and Marcus loses the dough ?

It's widely accepted that the handing over of the check is for TV only, and they don't usually get the money right away. It's never been made clear at what point they get the real check, but it's likely sometime after the initial filming ends.

Any money that Marcus invests into remodeling or repairs is usually lost to him, but he has been known to ask for expensive equipment back (e.g. a $200k 3D printer in season 1). If the money is invested into inventory, or towards paying off debt, that might be harder to recover and I don't recall reading any instances of him attempting that. 

You will notice that he often makes the big purchases on his own credit card, and invests in property as his own company rather than the company being featured. This is deliberate in order to make it easier to recover those funds if needed.