Solavei was founded in 2012 by Ryan Wuerch and provided mobile services for it’s users and was valued at $120 Million. So, what happened to Solavei and is it still around in 2023?
Effective December 4th, 2015, Solavei will discontinue all of its operations and will give it’s members a nice little T-Mobile option if they want it.
What happened to Solavei, this $120 million MLM giant with over 120 employees?
Solavei tried competing in one of the most competitive markets in the world: a 1.9 Trillion dollar industry according to Statista.
Solavei filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in June 2014. They continued operations with little backlash. In fact, only about five percent of their customers knew of the filing.
Customers of Solavei had the option of referring others to the mobile service and receiving $5 commission, thus making Solavei a network marketing company.
So, Why did Solavei Fail?
Good question. They basically failed because they tried positioning themselves in the most competitive industry in the world.
They wanted to give a person a chance to not only save on mobile services but to empower the customer financially with the business opportunity.
This is part of the closing disclosure from Ryan Wuerch:
“Yesterday was one of the most difficult days of my career. When I first had the vision for Solavei, it was founded on two core values: To do business with people I like, love and trust and to positively impact millions of people’s lives.”
Ryan Wuerch – CEO of Solavei
This is great, but a little out of focus. . .
This is like a person who wants to go into the NBA with only two weeks of basketball experience. . .
Tackling the 1.9 Trillion dollar mobile industry is a phenomenal task.
It would take positioning before any of the other huge mobile companies, like T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint, took off.
Solavei would have had to also have a flagship product that was like no other in the Industry. . .
They would need a product with little competition or be first-to-market.
Another thing Solavei did was try to branch into coffee.
Yes, Coffee!
Mobile service and coffee, how perfect!
Solavei was going to partner with a coffee company, which has decided not to partner with Solavei, but to create their own network marketing company.
HINT: This coffee company is not Organo Gold, which dominates the coffee MLM segment, so this coffee company better do some research before launching as an MLM.
Streamlining makes sense. . .
Many large corporations lose focus when they start trying to do everything. GE at one time had over 100 companies, before the new CEO took over and sold off all of them, except for the top 10.
Streamlining a business means focusing on the primary product. Steve Jobs also consolidated a lot of Apple products and focused on the top 10.
This is the same when becoming a MLM business owner. . .
I see so many distributors in 2 or 3 MLM companies. How can they promote 3 when they can’t be successful in one?
Having more is not better in this case. . .
We need to have laser focus when being a business owner, especially in the beginning.
I have never heard of a MLM leader being in more than one MLM at a time. It’s just not integritous.
It’s like having more than one wife or husband. Yes, you see people doing it on TV, that’s why they are on TV, it’s not normal.
It’s also not good business. . .
Showing people that you are committed to one MLM opportunity and that you have some established history with that one MLM gives you a lot of credibility.
People want to know, like and trust you and they can’t really trust you if you jump around from one opportunity to another.
“Treat network marketing like a profession and it will pay like a profession; treat network marketing like a hobby and it will pay like a hobby.”
If you’ve been in MLM for a little while, you’ve heard this quote and it’s so true.
What should I do?
I am not bashing Solavei. I think any company that wants to empower its people by helping others succeed is a great business model.
That’s why I love network marketing: the more you help others become successful, either financially, physically or mentally, the more YOU become successful.
This isn’t how Corporate America runs. . .
To succeed in Corporate America, you usually step on a few people to get to the top. . .
It’s a cut-throat game and Corporations are becoming outdated like the Industrial era.
This is the Information Age and we should empower people through helping others, which is what network marketing achieves.
“In network marketing, you get to the top by empowering others before yourself.”
Zig Ziglar said it best.
Conclusion on Solavei and MLM 2017
It is a shame about Solavei MLM shutting down. I cheer for any honest network marketing company to become successful.
I believe a network marketing company should have a first-to-market product, one that brings something truly unique to the marketplace.
There’s hundreds of network marketing companies out there and like brick and mortar businesses, a lot of them fail after 5 years. It’s nothing against network marketing, it’s just business in general.
The landscape for business and for Entrepreneurs changes faster than we like to admit.
You need to be in a business that evolves with technology and is available through “cloud technology” for everyone in the world to be a part of.
You need to be in a business where not only adults benefit, but children also. . .
You need to be in a business that offers not only a solution for health, but a financial opportunity as well. . .
And, you need to be compensated with the highest compensation plan and, the lowest cost for entry.