S06.09: Feat Socks NYC

[Whimsy]

Two brash social media influencers build a million dollar sock company but suffer major losses bringing the company to a standstill.  Marcus may get cold feet if arrogance prevents the business owners from meeting their goals. 

Original air date 3/5/2019

[Whimsy]

I think my computer summed this up for me on it's own when it didn't recognize "influencer" as an actual word.  These guys were the definition of entitled millenials.  I don't like lumping an entire generation into one bucket as I have two millenials of my own and they don't act like "millenials".  They are hard workers, both out on their own starting out in their careers that they went to school for.  But, the fact that the one guy just goes around saying "I don't care about your company" or whatever.  He's rude and thought he was entitled to whatever he wanted. 

[qtpye]

This was the first time I remember where it seemed like Marcus disliked the owners from the start.

[BusyOctober]

I was half-paying attention in the beginning, then I heard the 2 entrepreneurs little weasels say they graduated from UMASS/Amherst! My alma mater!  I perked up to see a feel good story about a successful business created at my old stomping grounds!  And then those 2 dolts kept talking....and the talking became incessant self aggrandizing and then it became entitled bloviated bullshit.  Way to embarrass yourselves, your parents, your school, and your generation.  The smarmy, douchebag entitlement and false sense of importance was palpable through my TV screen. The unmitigated gall of Weasel #1 to just show up at the NYC office asking for financials!!! For a biz he had NO involvement in!!! Nor did anyone in that office even know him...he could have been the kid delivering the lunch order.  And Weasel #2 thinking he should be a new leader of the group??  He practically blended into the wall while Weasel #1 was around.  No personality....just his big owl-eyed stare of incredulity when Julie and the other guys told him a flat 'no' to his offer to "lead" them.  So glad these idiots were sent packing and received a dressing down dose of reality from Marcus and his team.  

[Kenz]

What a jumbled mess. Watching this show was a waste of time. The two Feat guys were insufferable, and the other "Community" people employed by Marcus seemed dissatisfied with their jobs, even more so when those two guys were foisted on them. It was confusing and probably the worst Profit show yet.

[Whimsy]

36 minutes ago, BusyOctober said:

I was half-paying attention in the beginning, then I heard the 2 entrepreneurs little weasels say they graduated from UMASS/Amherst! My alma mater!  I perked up to see a feel good story about a successful business created at my old stomping grounds!  And then those 2 dolts kept talking....and the talking became incessant self aggrandizing and then it became entitled bloviated bullshit.  Way to embarrass yourselves, your parents, your school, and your generation.  The smarmy, douchebag entitlement and false sense of importance was palpable through my TV screen. The unmitigated gall of Weasel #1 to just show up at the NYC office asking for financials!!! For a biz he had NO involvement in!!! Nor did anyone in that office even know him...he could have been the kid delivering the lunch order.  And Weasel #2 thinking he should be a new leader of the group??  He practically blended into the wall while Weasel #1 was around.  No personality....just his big owl-eyed stare of incredulity when Julie and the other guys told him a flat 'no' to his offer to "lead" them.  So glad these idiots were sent packing and received a dressing down dose of reality from Marcus and his team.  

I forgot they went to Amherst.  I work for the Medical School, so I was embarrassed that they in any way represent one of the five campuses.  😕

[Gregg247]

These two guys were so arrogant that you could see their fall coming a mile away.  They certainly have a natural talent for sales.  Unfortunately, they believe that that natural talent is all they need, rather than it serving as a starting point for learning their trade and beginning a successful career.  The one guy even said that he never bothered studying in school because it all came easy to him.  Well, in the real world, that's just not enough.

When at the beach trying to sell those sunglasses, he was actually doing well and getting some interest from passersby.  However, his complete lack of knowledge of the product scuttled his chances.  He did not learn his lesson that day, as he was ultimately undone by the same mistake while at Community.

Speaking of Community, it sure seemed like everyone there was miserable (and this was before those jerks joined the staff).  Did anyone there ever smile?  Since Julie was "The Partner", why wasn't she in charge of Community, rather than have everyone "equally in charge/no one in charge"?  There seems to be a big disparity in the sales of the 5 products that make up Community.  The shoes and socks businesses were pretty successful, but the glasses and phone case companies are doing poorly.  It seems like one of those people should "champion" one of these brands and really push them.  Those jerks should have focused of this rather than on telling everyone else why they weren't as successful as they "should be".

I think in 5 years (and after a lot of kicks to the groin by Life) these 2 guys will be ready to become successful in business.

Edited March 6, 2019 by Gregg247

[KHenry14]

One curious bit of information from the show was how poorly Everkin and Ellison are doing. 

Secondly, I thought it was a good idea it was to bring these two dorks into the Community fold. Too bad their arrogance got in the way of actually working at the job at hand. 

And finally, it was interesting to see Marcus starting up his own little Shark Tank. 

[ae2]

What just happened. This episode was unintelligible. Sure, the guys were annoying, but what was in it for them? They didn't have a contract, they didn't get an investment, and they weren't getting paid, and no one wanted to work with them on Feat, they just wanted the Feat guys to work on their products.

And when the guys ask this question, they get told that asking "what's in it for us?" is the wrong attitude to have and is in conflict with "Community." That they have a "me me me" attitude.

Marcus brought them in to sell the other companies' products, to develop a new product line, and to start some half-assed startup accelerator, all with zero promise of pay. And then he chastised them for trying to focus on the products and businesses that WERE making money.

(And let's be real, when he pointed out that there was no real difference between the phone case and a $1 phone case, that's exactly what everyone watching the two phone case episodes was thinking.)

I think there was a good premise to this episode, but heavy editing butchered it.

Like why were the guys so insistent on getting all the sales and marketing numbers for all the different businesses? That didn't really make sense to me and I don't think there was an explanation, yet it took up the last 15 minutes of the episode, and was important enough for one of them to go into a completely different office in a different city to try to get the data. And why would Marcus ask them to work on businesses without giving them relevant sales information?

It seems that everyone involved in this, from the Feat guys to Marcus' own people were just as confused by what was happening as I was.

[qtpye]

1 hour ago, ae2 said:

What just happened. This episode was unintelligible. Sure, the guys were annoying, but what was in it for them? They didn't have a contract, they didn't get an investment, and they weren't getting paid, and no one wanted to work with them on Feat, they just wanted the Feat guys to work on their products.

And when the guys ask this question, they get told that asking "what's in it for us?" is the wrong attitude to have and is in conflict with "Community." That they have a "me me me" attitude.

Marcus brought them in to sell the other companies' products, to develop a new product line, and to start some half-assed startup accelerator, all with zero promise of pay. And then he chastised them for trying to focus on the products and businesses that WERE making money.

(And let's be real, when he pointed out that there was no real difference between the phone case and a $1 phone case, that's exactly what everyone watching the two phone case episodes was thinking.)

I think there was a good premise to this episode, but heavy editing butchered it.

Like why were the guys so insistent on getting all the sales and marketing numbers for all the different businesses? That didn't really make sense to me and I don't think there wastn explanation, yet it took up the last 15 minutes of the episode, and was important enough for one of them to go into a completely different office in a different city to try to get the data. And why would Marcus ask them to work on businesses without giving them relevant sales information?

It seems that everyone involved in this, from the Feat guys to Marcus' own people were just as confused by what was happening as I was.

4

Yes, as much as these guys were jerks, I had no clue what was going on. Why was Everkin doing so badly (only $1,000 worth of sales in a month...yikes)? Why were these guys on this project to begin with? I was very confused.

[Amarsir]

5 hours ago, Kenz said:

What a jumbled mess. Watching this show was a waste of time. The two Feat guys were insufferable, and the other "Community" people employed by Marcus seemed dissatisfied with their jobs, even more so when those two guys were foisted on them. It was confusing and probably the worst Profit show yet.

I think all this season he's been trying to do things differently. Some of them were real hits, but this one missed. I'm OK with the show taking risks like that. But I also agree that editing might have helped a lot. Maybe the problem is that the group kept doing stuff off-camera so they had trouble telling the story.

3 hours ago, KHenry14 said:

One curious bit of information from the show was how poorly Everkin and Ellison are doing. 

They're the newest though, aren't they? I would have figured Inkkas to not be doing that well, to be honest. It seems like there was a major attempt early on to push the brand but I don't get the sense it really took off.

4 hours ago, Gregg247 said:

Speaking of Community, it sure seemed like everyone there was miserable (and this was before those jerks joined the staff).  Did anyone there ever smile?  Since Julie was "The Partner", why wasn't she in charge of Community, rather than have everyone "equally in charge/no one in charge"? 

She seemed to have the most natural authority of who was there, but I think that being part of Marcus's umbrella organization they didn't want to tie her down into this group. 

[Showthyme]

Side eye on the entire episode. These two dolts are not new to Marcus. The website below is not current or accurate in their reporting but they found that Marcus has worked with Feat in the past on Inkkas. I am too lazy to Google it myself.

https://www.theprofitupdates.com/p/all-profit-updates.html

It is interesting that Marcus did not share the financial statements for his lines included in the Community. I wonder if the people invited to present on the fly were there to audition for an upcoming episode. 

For me, I get a new phone case when I get a new phone. I am not price sensitive and end up paying $15-$30 for a case that works for me. Everkin was a bad idea from the start. 

The two dolts need cash and most likely reached out to Marcus hoping to either get a cash infusion from Marcus or get some clicks on their website. I clicked. More than cash, the dolts need to listen and pay more attention to people who genuinely want to help rather than focusing on how many followers/clicks they have. A follower is not necessarily a buyer. They need to present themselves more professionally too. There is a time to show off a cool car and a time to invite someone into your office to discuss a deal. 

Edited March 6, 2019 by Showthyme

[JasminePhyllisia]

6 hours ago, ae2 said:

(And let's be real, when he pointed out that there was no real difference between the phone case and a $1 phone case, that's exactly what everyone watching the two phone case episodes was thinking.)

So true, and not surprised at all that the phone cases aren't selling, many who post on this board predicted as much.  And the sample they had on the table had pineapples on it...trendy maybe but as we've all mentioned before there is nothing unique or original about the designs on those overpriced phone cases.

I noticed they've added a wireless charging pad to that line as well, and out of curiosity I looked it up on the Everkin website.  It sells for $49, meanwhile a similar charger which is currently the #2 seller in the Amazon "Charging Stations" category can be had for $13.99.   Good luck with that.  I don't get why these phone cases seem to be such a blind spot for Marcus--overall I respect him for his shrewdness.  

As for the two guys...Marcus visits so many businesses run by people who are arrogant, lacking basic business sense, troubled, etc.  I'd like to see more sincere people to balance it out--my favorite have been the mom and her son who ran Mr. Cory's Cookies.  As I remember from that episode even the little kid understood the financial statements better than most of the adults we see on this show.

[stormy]

Marcus wanted to go into business with them because they were fun?

What a mess.

[ae2]

29 minutes ago, stormy said:

Marcus wanted to go into business with them because they were fun?

What a mess.

That's far from the worst reason he's gone into business with someone...

I think Marcus' original goal with these guys was to set them up as the social media marketing team for all of his brands, the same way he uses the two guys from (I can't remember the name of the company) as his design experts on the show, and the lady from (it's late, it'll come to me tomorrow) as his so-called fashion guru.

Even though they were annoying "bros" who failed at managing their own money, their style appeals to a certain demographic that Marcus desperately wants to be a part of. So it should have been a good match up, I guess. Marcus played it all sorts of wrong, and then for some reason the guys were going on a witch hunt for Marcus's profit and loss statements.

[retrograde]

16 hours ago, Whimsy said:

These guys were the definition of entitled millenials.  I don't like lumping an entire generation into one bucket as I have two millenials of my own and they don't act like "millenials".  They are hard workers, both out on their own starting out in their careers that they went to school for.  But, the fact that the one guy just goes around saying "I don't care about your company" or whatever.  He's rude and thought he was entitled to whatever he wanted. 

I don't think it's a millennial thing -- every generation has a variation on cocky, entitled, rich, white, male douchebags who cruise through life on easy mode and think it's because they're brilliant. I can just as easily see these hucksters on Wall Street in the 80s. 

I agree Marcus' convoluted plan (at least what we saw of it) made no sense and I had no idea WTF was going on most of the episode. But I do think his overall point was correct: the only thing they're actually good at is convincing people to buy crap on Instagram (and apparently, up until now, convincing suckers to invest in their unprofitable company), so they need to make that their business. They're not good entrepreneurs, and the socks will inevitably go out of style as they lose touch with the zeitgeist as everyone does. But if they can't use their social media selling abilities to shill products they don't personally love, they'll never turn it into a marketable skill.

[mojito]

Quote

I think in 5 years (and after a lot of kicks to the groin by Life) these 2 guys will be ready to become successful in business.

I hope in 5 years, these two guys look at this episode and shake their heads in embarrassment.

I thought Marcus brought the guys in to use their social networking skills to market and sell products. The problem was they only wanted to sell products they were interested in. I shook my head when Taylor stated that he will give his all to something he's interested in, but not something he's not interested in. Fool, that's life. We're all that way, you're not so damned unique.  Suck it up and use your skills. 

I enjoyed this episode. Sometimes, it's  fun watching people make fools of themselves.

[Josiah Bounderby]

A truly confusing episode. I'm fine with the show trying different sorts of episodes, but this was a formless mess.

The two subjects of this ep are 21st century marketers, sure, but their doucheyness isn't related to their age. Spent any time with older people who are litigators? Traders? Real estate speculators? Same disagreeability, just a diff flavor.

[healthnut]

Those two were a mess. Community was a bad idea and that didn’t help. 

I agree with several of you that the real takeaway from this episode is how poorly Everkin is doing (and Ellison but I can’t remember that episode). Guess MLB and Marvel didn’t come through. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

I'm not surprised that Everkin, and Ellison aren't doing well, and suspect that Feats would have been the same way if Marcus had invested in them.       I looked at the Feats website, and couldn't figure out what I would be getting for my money, the sizing was difficult to find, and I finally gave up.      I'm not going to a high priced sock dealer for something that I'm not sure I'll want.     

[guilfoyleatpp]

These guys are the type of people who are ruining the culture of Venice Beach.

I think Marcus wanted to make them his social media influencer sales experts but they don't even really understand what they know. They think they know everything.

I was glad when the other "Community" people gave them a telling off. The one guy starts off saying how awesome he is, then the Greek guy put them in their place, then they whined that it's not a pissing contest. You can't pee in the dirt in front of everyone and then gloat about how far you made it and then say "well, it's not a contest" when someone beats your mark.

[guilfoyleatpp]

And yes, that guy is a good, natural salesman. However, the very first thing they treat you in basic sales is to know the product and understand the key words that they want the customer to know. Read a damn label. Google it.

Prior to the advent of social media, that guy would have had a thriving sales at county fairs business. He would charm and flirt and bluff his way through lots of sales without having to know a damn thing about the product. 

[silverspoons]

This episode confused me. I also went to one of the 5 colleges (Mt Holyoke) so I was interested to see the guys on the show. I just did not understand what was in it for them? They were suppose to work for free? for 5 companies that Marcus invested in that are struggling. So Marcus just finds some internet influencers and expects them to work for free? I was glad that this part did not work for everyone involved.

As for the business in trouble, based on some interviews I have seen Marcus do, he said he knows he is going to have to get rid of some of these businesses but has not figured out how. Marcus says he invests in people sometimes over products. Most of these failing products have something in common, I could go on ebay or some website and buy the from dirt cheap. Sometimes I want quality , like buying a mattress  , a pair of black boots (that I will wear for years), or major appliances. Other items have become sadly disposable in our society and these items like cell phones cases, watches , socks, and eyeglasses seem to have trends that come and go so fast that they are bought cheap for a few dollars fro wish or some other website and tossed when the next trend comes out.  

It seems like Marcus has made camping world an empire and he is doing okay in his mini clothing empire but the rest of the companies seem to be working for each other and can that go on long term?

[lu1535]

It looked like Julie was pregnant. That's all I got from the show.

[CrazyInAlabama]

Yes, and was the Courage B daughter pregnant also?       I really hoped someone would take a cattle prod to the Feats guy at the Community meeting.    He was being very inappropriate with the information he wanted from the other companies.    That's the due diligence information Marcus does, not what a prospective company partner should be doing to Marcus's companies.