The

Entrepreneurial

Code

Lessons from an

Ivy League Entrepreneur

Chapter Thirty-Eight

“Nothing is permanent in this wicked world, not even our troubles.” – Charles Chaplin

 

The company’s attorney worked behind the scenes and his office contacted all the Attorneys General to arrange a conference call to discuss the situation.  Although many Attorneys General hadn’t received any complaints about NCEB, he wanted to be proactive and get everyone together on the phone.  He felt it was faster and less costly to clear things up with the entire group, rather than having to deal separately with different parties.   

Naturally, it benefited Johnny and his partners to have an agreement in place that said they had no legal problems, so they were extremely supportive of the idea.  The company’s attorney accumulated detailed information about the operations as proof the company offered real products and services.  He had documentation supporting all of the discounts with national merchants, the VISA banking agreement, the arrangements with book wholesalers, and letters from the various suppliers detailing the steps taken to create the business. 

Since College Card already offered full refunds to anyone that felt confused by the marketing, there were arguably no injured parties.  The attorney’s job was to be the voice of reason and remind the group that they were dealing with three 22 year-old entrepreneurs.  He argued that although errors of judgment were made, the partners had good intentions and had already taken steps to rectify their mistakes.  He demonstrated that the whole situation was a giant misunderstanding. 

Within weeks, Johnny and his partners signed an agreement with a division of the Federal Post Office.  They were never charged with any wrong doing.  They just walked into their attorney’s office and signed a “voluntary agreement of compliance.”  It laid out the allegations, stated that Johnny and his partners denied any wrong doing and that they agreed never to do anything that resembled those allegations in the future.  They also agreed to close the NCEB business, which had been the focal point of the controversy.  The NCEB mail was returned to sender by the post office, so Johnny and his partners never got to know how many responses they received from their direct mail campaign. 

 

Copyright  2005 by Chris Cononico
All rights reserved. No part of this manuscript may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.