♪ what is this batmobile? tonifeels like "tron.""... ...two brash millennials use their social-media skills to build a booming online sock business... taylor: be sure and like, subscribe, and comment below. tell a friend to tell a friend to tell a friend to tell a friend. lemonis: ...racking up more than $2 million in sales. then they pretty much blew it. well, how much money did you burn through? parker: $650,000. lemonis: now taylor offer and parker burr -- well, they've come to me for help. parker: a big thing on our mind right now is q4 of this year. we had to take such a bet to make that happen, all the purchasing, all the manufacturing. and it scares us. lemonis: and i think i have a very unique way to tap in to their talents and hopefully make us both a lot of money.

you said, "we can sell anything," and i think i need to put that to the test. but if they can't put aside their pride and arrogance... parker: i'm pretty sure that i ran the biggest business before out of all of us. travis: i've actually done more than you in three businesses that i've owned. you haven't taken the time to learn [bleep] lemonis: ...and prove to me that they can achieve the goals i've set for them... have you figured out your specific business entirely? taylor: no. lemonis: well, what the [bleep] nobody's stopping you from figuring that out. taylor: we're trying. lemonis: ...they're gonna lose this follower for good. taylor: this is where we think we can add the most value because we just -- lemonis: well, you're not gonna add the most value by getting it and pissing people off. that's not a good way to add value. my name is marcus lemonis, and i risk my own money to save struggling businesses. we're not gonna wake up every morning wondering if we have a job. we're gonna wake up every morning wondering how many jobs we have to do. it's not always pretty. everything's gonna change. everything. but i do it to save jobs, and i do it to make money. this... let's go to work. ...is "the profit."

♪ i just arrived in venice, california, and i'm heading over to taylor and parker's office. socks are popular. you see them everywhere -- different patterns, different colors. and while there's definitely a business opportunity here, i have a very limited interest in investing in the sock business. i'm more interested in understanding how these guys generated over $2 million of revenue selling socks. they have over 100,000 followers on instagram, they have a great youtube presence, and every time they do a video, they get tens of thousands of views. pretty impressive for two guys that are selling socks. is that your business plan? parker: oh, boy. lemonis: playing football by the beach? taylor: exactly the business plan. lemonis: what's happening? i'm marcus. taylor: what's up? taylor. nice to meet you. lemonis: taylor, nice to meet you. parker: parker. good to meet you, yeah. lemonis: so, is this your house? parker: yeah, i live here. taylor: this is the place of residence. lemonis: where's the office? taylor: right here. lemonis: and what is this batmobile?

taylor: this is a car that i made a bet with a big youtuber that if he could sell 20,000 pairs of socks, i'd give him my car. he ended up selling like 18,000 pairs, and it brought him like $500,000 of revenue. i got to keep the car. lemonis: what do you when it rains? taylor: umbrella. nah, i just take an uber. lemonis: so, this is the headquarters? taylor: this is it. we'll do a couple million dollars out of here. here's a box of socks. so, it would be nine pairs. lemonis: what's one pair of socks sell for? taylor: depending how discounts -- we always have discounts floating -- they sell for anywhere from $7 to $15. lemonis: and what's the cost? taylor: it's $2. lemonis: what does the box sell for? taylor: that sells for 100 bucks. lemonis: when did you start the business? taylor: 2014, our senior year at umass amherst. parker: we were in the back of an entrepreneurship class. and taylor was in the front of the class and he's got his chest out and he's like, "i made $20,000 selling t-shirts to fraternities and sororities." taylor: and so parker comes up to me, super humble, and he's like, "oh, that's cool, man. i make custom stuff, too. i make custom lacrosse uniforms. and i've done over $1 million in sales." by his senior year. lemonis: you were like, "oh, excuse me. what?"

taylor: he was saying everyone with the lacrosse uniforms -- parker: wanted socks to match their uniforms, and i was like, "what is this trend? why do people care about socks so much?" and taylor's like, "let's sell socks on campus tomorrow." taylor: parker had this little, dinky, $500 heat press. parker: we're just printing -- taylor: and we would just get google images and print socks, and we made a couple hundred pairs. that day, we sold a couple thousand dollars. senior year of college, we were like, "how do we blow this company up?" oh, so, we were very, very set on going after influencers. and i learned all these influencers lived in the same building in hollywood. there was like 20 kids with over a million followers. lemonis: each? taylor: yeah. so, i told parker, i was like, "hey, we're moving into this building. we're living with these kids. we're becoming friends with these kids. we're gonna work with these kids." lemonis: an influencer is somebody who can influence or drive somebody's behavior to act in a certain way, to buy a product, to go to an event, and they do that all on social media. imagine a celebrity promoting a breakfast cereal. the way that these guys have actually tapped into that is they understand how to tap in to other influencers and create that same effect. it's kind of genius. parker: after graduating college, we raised $250,000. lemonis: from who? parker: one of our advisors.

and then probably 18 months ago, we raised $1 million from a single angel. and then once we got that money is kind of when we had some of our highest highs but also our lowest lows. taylor: so, we had this money. we were like, "cool. now we have to go hire people. anyone want a job? doesn't matter what you do. come join us. we need people." we had a 5,000-square-foot warehouse over here in inglewood. we did all distribution, and we had a sales team in house, our marketing, graphic designers... parker: three content creators. taylor: ...customer service. parker: but collaborations with influencers was so up and down. taylor: we'd do a $550,000 month, and then we'd do a $50,000 month. parker: at the time, that was kind of the backbone of how we made money. and it was an inefficient business model. lemonis: and when did you shut that model down? parker: that would have been -- taylor: about a year ago. and we realized it was just better to outsource and automate everything in our business. lemonis: so, how much money did you burn through in that "experiment"? parker: $650,000, plus $300,000 in inventory. lemonis: and this is the only job you have? taylor: yeah. parker: we try to pay ourselves a salary. lemonis: okay. and how much? parker: we're each 60 grand a year. lemonis: okay. and the company can afford that? parker: um, most months.

lemonis: i'm intrigued by the fact that you were able to do a couple million dollars worth of socks without any retail distribution, the fact that you understand the influencer game, which is different than understanding digital marketing. parker: we understand digital advertising. like, that's something we personally have gotten really good at, the creative. taylor: we think we can sell anything with a kind of dominance. lemonis: have you ever had to do it with a different product? taylor: yeah. so, we've actually done it for hoodies. and our hoodie sales in the past, what, four months -- parker: in one month, our hoodies sales passed our sock business. lemonis: do you have a hoodie? parker: let me just grab one and pull it out here. this is the softest hoodie in the world. lemonis: so, now you're not in the sock business? taylor: we are. we're still selling. lemonis: so, is it better for me to think about you guys as your own self-made digital-marketing agency? taylor: yes. we're the digital-marketing agency that understands millennials and how to market to them and how to use social media to talk to them and market and brand. lemonis: who owns what in the company? taylor: our first investor has, what, 16%? second investor has 10%. lemonis: and then you guys own the rest. parker: yeah. lemonis: and then what are your roles in the company? taylor: i focus more on the social aspect --

so, instagram, being active there, then also customer service, oversee that, and then making sure the packages get out. lemonis: so, you're social and logistics. taylor: exactly. parker: i focus on finance, most product development, and all the digital acquisition, actually buying ads. lemonis: okay. so, why'd you guys call me? parker: a big thing on our mind right now is q4 of this year. we should do 50% of our total revenue on the year in q4. we had to take such a bet to make that happen, all the purchasing, all the manufacturing. and it, a little bit, scares us 'cause we just went through all the stuff we went through. lemonis: and where do you get the money from to do it? i think it's really understanding what assets you truly have in your vault. i feel like we need to go somewhere other than this. too often, businesses, small or big, think that capital is the answer to everything. okay. these guys think they need outside capital for their operating expenses, but they don't, and i'm about to show them why. let me see these socks first. taylor: so, this is, like, a random collection 'cause we don't really hold any inventory here.

lemonis: how many pairs of socks in stock? taylor: we are sitting on 96,000. lemonis: of that inventory, how much of it is garbage? taylor: i would say maybe 25,000 to 30,000. lemonis: why? parker: bad licensing deal, bad influencer, ordering. lemonis: so, problem one -- locked-up cash. and that locked-up cash, 30,000 pairs at cost, is 60,000 bucks. parker: yep. lemonis: problem two -- no plan. parker: no plan. lemonis: have you ever guys put a video out that just said, "we f'd up, and we need your help"? taylor: yeah, we could definitely do that. parker: let's make a selfie video. taylor: i could post on instagram right now. lemonis: let's do it. taylor: five minutes. we'll do 10 socks for 20 bucks. we'll move them at $2 a pair. lemonis: what do you want to call it? taylor: we f'd up box. we're here with parker right now, and what's this product we're making? parker: it's called the we f'd up box. taylor: we're making the we f'd up box. lemonis: i'll buy $10,000 worth of socks... taylor: okay. lemonis: ...if you can generate $50,000. parker: okay. lemonis: right now, though. taylor: you'll give us 10 grand? lemonis: yep. i'm not giving you 10 grand. i'm buying $10,000 worth of socks, and i'll donate them. taylor: are we live? parker: we're live.

taylor: it's called the we f'd up bundle. it's 20 bucks. swipe up right now. marcus said we need to sell 30,000 pairs today 'cause we have 30,000 extra units of socks. go. swipe up. swipe up. we need your help. lemonis: if these guys think that they're so good at what they do, i thought i would take a test drive. before i give them any idea of what i want to do with them, i want to see if they could actually solve their own problem. so, i'm gonna give you guys about an hour, and then i'm gonna have you guys meet me at a restaurant. i want you to bring your financials, and i want you to bring your laptops. taylor: eight boxes so far. parker: count 'em down, baby. lemonis: okay? i'll see you guys in a little bit. parker: all right. ♪ taylor: what's up? lemonis: how you guys doing? taylor: good to see you again. lemonis: how's it shaking? taylor: uh, just getting, like, cha-chings every maybe two seconds. lemonis: that ding is a register that keeps ringing, right? taylor: we could turn it off if it's annoying. lemonis: no, no, it's not annoying. how is the sound of a register ringing annoying?

so, walk me through the financials. do you have them printed out, by chance? parker: we don't have them printed out. you kind of knew that was coming, didn't you? lemonis: yes. parker: this is our p&l this year, yeah. lemonis: so, let's just look at the summary so far year to date. taylor: yep. lemonis: $1,236,000 worth of business. your gross profit was $544,000, not even 50%, on a direct-to-consumer business. $439,000 of advertising, which is your cost of acquisition, paid search, all of those things, right? parker: that's right. lemonis: your net operating income for the year, after paying those expenses and those growths and the marketing, is a loss of 100 grand, which is kind of terrible on a sock that costs $2 and you're selling it for, you said, about $7. taylor: well, no. i mean, like, an average of $5, $6. lemonis: well, they're not even. if your margins are 50%, you'd buy for $2 and sell for $4. taylor: yeah. lemonis: so, you're selling it for less than $4.

how is that? parker: through bundling and sales. lemonis: just to get volume. parker: yeah, we were just trying to get volume. taylor: any cash we could. $50,600 now. i think we might be able to pay for dinner. lemonis: you haven't factored in one number. taylor: $10,000? let's go. lemonis: winter's coming, and we'll give people some socks. taylor: cool. lemonis: you want to take it here? taylor: yeah, we can do it here right now. i'm doing charge. "credit card declined"? just kidding. [ laughter ] there it is. lemonis: parker, did you think you'd get to $50,000 this quick, truthfully? parker: not really, not that quick, no. no way. taylor: i knew. this is where i -- lemonis: there's your cockiness. taylor: i wasn't cocky. i knew we'd make it happen. lemonis: i like their energy and i like their enthusiasm and i like the fact that they're confident. but it can tip over into arrogance, and arrogance can tip over into sloppiness and negligence. they didn't know to just put the socks on sale and generate the 50 grand. so, it's like, great talent, but they're green on the business side. i'm fascinated by your energy and your enthusiasm.

i think i can help you. i think you can help me. i think there's a lot that could be done. but i don't know where to start. this isn't like an internship. parker: yeah. lemonis: and i'm not gonna be here every day to say, "okay, guys, here's your task for the day." so, normally i would sit down and say, "okay, i want to invest $400,000," but i can't do that 'cause i literally don't know what the hell it's gonna be. and so i don't think i'm willing to make an investment right now. you have the biggest mouth in the room. you are the mouthpiece. and so i believe that you could sell anything. or maybe i was wrong.

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"okay, i want to invest $400,000." but i don't think i'm willing to make an investment right now. i think we need to try some business things that perfect this talent. you said, "we can sell anything," and i think i need to put that to the test. so, the next time we meet, i'd like to figure out how this company, whatever it's gonna become, can turn into a multimillion-dollar business three or four times over, okay? taylor: makes sense. lemonis: ready to get to work? taylor: yeah. thank you so much. parker: thank you so much. lemonis: i'll see you soon. ♪ hey, travis, brad, juli, have you guys met? juli: hi. juli. nice to meet you.

parker: good to meet you. juli: juli. taylor: hey. taylor. juli: nice to meet you. lemonis: i've asked taylor and parker to meet me at my office in downtown los angeles, where i house a staff that sells a multitude of products that are already in my portfolio -- inkkas shoes, flex watches, ellison sunglasses, everkin phone cases. travis and brad were originally my partners at flex, but now they handle sales and logistics for the entire group. and juli really oversees workflow. i now want to add taylor and parker so we can add these social-media and web skills to the entire group, essentially creating a super group. you guys took shoes that were doing nothing, and you tripled the business. you guys took socks. you created a market. you did 100 grand in 5 hours. so, we could take a bunch of businesses that we already own -- inkkas, flex, everkin, and ellison -- and we can partner with you guys, put feat socks in the pot, and say to ourselves, "we have a digital-marketing agency that owns these assets." juli: mm-hmm. lemonis: but my goal is also to create an environment

where people that don't have access to a big, high-dollar agency can come here. and how do you folks become millionaires without having to buy any inventory? unless that's not interesting to you. taylor: no, it's very interesting. that's exactly what we want. parker: yeah. lemonis: we ultimately need to prove three things -- we can sell the products we have -- that's one stream of revenue. second stream of revenue would be other people's products that you would represent, controlling the inventory and manage the logistics and marketing for other, smaller business brands that don't have the ability to do it. and these businesses contribute to the cash flow. but if we want to truly prove out this theory, you'd want to almost see the five of you actually create a new brand. you say you can build a brand from scratch? let's prove it. the first stream of revenue that i want them to work on are the existing products that everybody's bringing together -- inkkas, socks, flex watches, ellison sunglasses, and everkin phone accessories. the second stream of revenue is to find other

small businesses that have great people, great products, or great process, but they need inventory management, manufacturing tools, marketing, digital marketing, accounting, et cetera. and in turn, there will be a fee to access those resources. and the third stream of revenue that i want community to come up with is to develop a product from scratch. what are we calling this thing? parker: community. travis: yeah. i like that. lemonis: great. community i love. so, i have an idea. why don't we all get on our social media and say, "we're gonna pick products. you're gonna get launched in our digital-marketing campaign." i want my team to get the ball rolling right away, and so i'm giving them two hours to find entrepreneurs that can pitch their product or their services and be represented by community. essentially it's like a casting call for businesses that want to take their company to the next level. taylor: if you have an idea and you want to work with marcus, respond with a dm -- lemonis: not just with me. taylor: with all of us, shoot us a dm with your idea, any idea in the world. please dm us. if you're in l.a., let us know. you can come down and pitch us. first you got to get people excited, get some good ideas,

and then we'll narrow it down. ♪ lemonis: so, what we're gonna do is we're gonna have people come through and sort of pitch their thing. what i'm gonna want to understand when we go in there is what your collective thought process is for picking them. parker: yep. lemonis: are you guys ready? travis: yeah. lemonis: i'm kind of shocked with how many people showed up. the office and the waiting room and the elevator is packed. i'm stunned. bryan: this is swaggy. he's, like, the richest dog on instagram. i want to start our own dog-food line. arman: the brand at hand is called half dead. it's a jewelry/lifestyle brand. ashley: i've brought to you today an earth jade roller. this will help with eliminating those toxins from your skin. juli: i think, like, this is the next trend. taylor: but i'm scared. if i look this up on amazon, i can find it for 5 bucks, right? ashley: absolutely, but it's not branded. taylor: so, we help you make this cool. lindsay: we launched in july of this year and have just hit $100,000 in sales. brad: you have 70 influencers that have a 50 million

combined reach right now? lindsay: yes. taylor: i don't think this matches our model, unless anyone else wants to object. lemonis: taylor's almost aggressive and somewhat dismissive. like, if he's not interested, he's like, "yeah, yeah, yeah. okay. the next?" steve: cuts makes shirts. we've been selling shirts via instagram and facebook for the last two years. taylor: there's nothing viral about it. it's a cool shirt. man: what i'm speaking about is an app and a platform that i have coming out called tenton. within the app, i'm gonna have a section that has photos that i've curated before that also have, like, inspirational quotes. taylor: i don't understand who does this and how big the market is. robbie: so, i'm the co-founder of tenzo tea. the matcha's a stone-ground green-tea powder. it's an amazingly healthy beverage. taylor: i just don't see where we could add a ton of value. lemonis: if your business is in trouble and you need my help, log on to...

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lemonis: okay. so, the fact that you don't like green tea is the first challenge for you. so, is it fair to say that you don't do well with things you don't like? taylor: it's obviously harder to sell something and be involved with something you're less passionate about and you don't use on the daily. lemonis: i'm concerned that if it's something that taylor doesn't like, he's not even open-minded to the idea that the marketplace may actually want to buy the product. you've pretty much said no to all of them. and in business, you sometimes have to work with people or products that you don't necessarily like. knowing what you guys want to do and what we're trying to build here in the community -- pick one of them and fall in love with it so that when i ask you to sell it, you can. all right? parker: got it. brad: cool. travis: dope. lemonis: okay, guys. awesome. ♪ i've been told that we have the first draft of the new company logo. juli: these are the two that we landed on. lemonis: i would go with this. taylor: don't love it, but pick and choose our battles, and it's not a battle we want to fight. travis: i think what was more important to them

was associating it with you. taylor: i like the name marcus lemonis in it. juli: their main thing was they wanted marcus lemonis on it. lemonis: i don't want it just to take on my personality. i want it to take on your personality. taylor: and it will. yeah. lemonis: it doesn't seem centered on the glass. there you go. i also want taylor and parker to get started on our first line of revenue, and that's driving sales for the original five products. so i've tasked them to come up with a campaign for flex watches. what's the business objective? taylor: the business objective is to show that if you buy this watch, you'll be supporting -- how much is it? clean water? is it you're supporting a kid for a day or -- lemonis: in order for you to sell anybody's products, including your own, you got to know the dna of all of it. you're gonna put a watch in there. and, yeah, it's gonna be a cool visual, but you don't even know what you're telling people. taylor: yeah. i think it's 'cause i've always got by just kind of winging it on the fly. lemonis: did you do that as a kid? taylor: yeah. i didn't really study. i mean, i got decent grades, the things i cared about, but also -- lemonis: ah. let's go back to that.

taylor: yeah. for me, it's easier to go into the details with things i'm passionate about. it's hard for things i'm not passionate about. lemonis: what i want you to understand is, what is available to you as a businessperson if you just decided to care about everything. i'll help taylor out. flex is a very special brand because it takes a portion of their sales and helps charitable organizations. but what i don't want to do is always have to educate him on the business that he's working in. good ideas are fine, but i need substance behind them. we got to work on the product knowledge. taylor: cool. yeah. parker: sure. lemonis: we're also moving along with revenue stream number three -- coming up with a brand-new product that we can add to community. taylor: the product we're coming up with -- we're introducing blnkt threaded goods. so, it's a weighted blanket, and we have a prototype here. travis: are you ready for your extras? taylor: wow, you're so relaxed right now. juli: it reduces anxiety and depression. lemonis: i'm gonna be honest with you. i kind of like it. juli: it is. no, people love it. it's a big point -- [ laughter ] taylor: this is our viral video.

brad: man, he's relaxed. lemonis: this blanket is the community's idea for its sixth product. this is the third source of revenue. taylor: that being said, i don't think it's a priority right now. lemonis: well, the task is you had to come up with something. taylor: yeah. we came up with it. lemonis: no, but you have to, like, do it. the whole idea behind community is that there's all of you guys multitasking. so, inkkas has done 500,000 bucks in a month. the watch has done $175,000 for the month. the socks have done $100 and... juli: 30. lemonis: ...$30,000 for the month. the glasses have done... travis: $10,000. lemonis: and the cases? brad: $1,000. travis: $1,000. juli: yeah. lemonis: this whole community should make 5 million bucks a year in profit. i wanted to get the entire community team together because as i look at the sales data, everkin and ellison, quite frankly, aren't doing anything. and i want to make sure that everybody is very focused

on treating each of these businesses equally. taylor: everkin -- i think the cost now is like $7 a case or something. the consumer -- i don't think i can convey it's a different quality than $1 i could make them for in china. lemonis: look, you have the biggest mouth in the room. you are the mouthpiece. i believe that you could sell anything. or maybe i was wrong. taylor: you're not wrong, but i could sell a couple phone cases, or i could sell thousands of shoes. and that's what i'm gonna ask you -- is this a nonprofit where it's fun for you, where you're gonna go and, "let's go help all these people"? if my money's tied to it, i want to make the most money for community. lemonis: this is not fun for me, but you know what's gonna be fun? when i get a big check. is taylor actually telling me that he wants me just to abandon the business because the results don't meet his expectations? part of the reason that i even brought them in is to super-charge these start-ups. and instead of him getting engaged and giving ideas, he's basically trying to tear it down and close up shop. do you guys want to take everkin out of the community? travis: i want to try and make it work,

like the cellphone case wardrobe. juli: no. brad: i'm willing to give it a try. juli: meaning, no, i don't want it out. taylor: yes. parker: yes. lemonis: i'm not sure if taylor and parker actually grasp the concept of community. it's starting to become apparent to me that what they're really focused on is just making money the easy way. taylor: you feel better now. lemonis: we know you want to get rid of cellphone cases. the good news is there's five of you and not just you. ♪ i'm paying taylor and parker a visit because, to be totally honest, i was really bothered by the attitude they showed me back at the office. taylor: marcus is here. lemonis: so, what have you guys been doing? taylor: working. lemonis: yeah? they have amazing marketing skills. but when you're part of something bigger, you have to spread that love across all of the businesses, not just the ones you like. so, now i want to see you actually take something that you don't like, that you're not

comfortable with, and prove that you can sell it. and we can go down the street to washington and actually just see if you can peddle. taylor: cool. lemonis: okay, so, what do you want to sell? do we have ellison glasses? parker: no, we don't have inventory. taylor: i mean, i could sell these off my face for 100 bucks right now on the beach. lemonis: you can sell those off your face for $100? do you really think you can do that? taylor: yeah. let's go walk around. i want to sell some [bleep] lemonis: so then let's roll. let's go. [ engine starts ] feels like "tron." taylor: let's see. who wants some glasses? lemonis: it's time to put taylor's big mouth and his overconfidence on his selling skills to the test. and let's hope he does better with the sunglasses than he did with flex watches. taylor: what's up? how you guys doing? what's up, guys? you interested at all in learning about these glasses? the name is called ellison. man #2: no. that's okay. taylor: we have these for sale. man #3: i like these. taylor: nice, right? you feel the weight?

they're nice and light. man #3: yeah. for real. taylor: so, i can give you these glasses today for 100 bucks. don't you wish you could have a pair? man #3: no, i don't. man #4: i'm an optician. i've been a master optician for 30 years. taylor: sweet. so you probably know more about this than me. man #4: i know a lot. rivet all the way through. makes it a solid frame. it'll last forever. what's up with the lenses? are they polarized? taylor: i'm actually not too sure. i think they are, though. man #4: are they polycarbonate? taylor: i'm not sure. man #4: what's the metal made out of? is it non-allergenic? taylor: i'm not sure. travis: for you to call yourself a leader and then discredit me -- parker: but that's why -- travis: you haven't taken the time to learn [bleep] i'm over it. like, you guys figure it the [bleep] out. in a highly capable lexus suv. at the golden opportunity sales event. get zero percent financing on all 2020 lexus models. experience amazing at your lexus dealer. on all 2020 lexus models. ♪ ♪all strength ♪we ain't stoppin' believe me♪ ♪go straight till the morning look like we♪

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experience amazing taylor: i'm actually not too sure. i think they are, though. man #4: are they polycarbonate? taylor: i'm not sure. man #4: what's the metal made out of? is it non-allergenic? taylor: i'm not sure. lemonis: what do you mean, you're not too sure? taylor: i don't know of every -- lemonis: so, you don't know the features and benefits of the glasses? man #4: good luck to you. taylor: thank you. lemonis: you didn't know what the lenses were. you didn't know what the frame was made of. i think if you're gonna sell a product, you really have to understand what the heck you're selling. and your personality makes up for whatever you're missing. parker: mm-hmm. taylor: yeah. lemonis: but if you took your personality and your confidence along with the product knowledge, you would be unstoppable. ♪ ♪

brad: so, i think we should discuss what seem to be our top three companies out of the ones that we interviewed that night -- matcha, swaggy, and the jewelry, which was half dead? travis: yeah. brad: okay. travis: what are your guys' thoughts on swaggy? i mean, like, i really liked how he presented. i thought it was cool he had all this swag to him. taylor: which i didn't like. and working with influencers in general -- like, they're not professional. juli: so, what about the green matcha tea? brad: green-tea matcha. juli: i thought he was great. travis: i am interested in the tea. brad: i feel like he had one of the stronger business models out of everyone we met with and a product that we could actually sell. taylor: it rubbed me completely the wrong way. travis: but i liked the guy, and i thought his product was cool, so... taylor: dude, why you trying to finesse me? like, we know how to do this [bleep] we just did this [bleep] and i'm at the point in my life where i want to make more money than help more people. the hardest thing is to get excited about something, then not know how and if we'll ever make any money off it. we have no idea if and when we'll ever make money off anything. travis: but you've seen what we've been able to do with these other brands,

and you know we're gonna do millions of dollars. and you know that there's gonna be some net profit off of that. so there's going to be hundreds of thousands of dollars at stake. parker: i think one of the biggest miscommunication things that's going on here is that, like, when taylor keeps saying, "how do we make money?" he's not saying "we," taylor and parker. it's like, how do we -- how do these businesses make money? right? like -- juli: mnh. how you guys have come in here and really only focused on the businesses that we've spent years driving to actually have some sustainability and having no interest in the newer businesses that aren't as stable, it seems like you're only out for yourself. this is our livelihood. this is what we have literally poured our heart and souls into for the last three or two years or however long we've been here. parker: why, from your side, have we not been involved with projections and the community and the setup things? brad: because you guys haven't been 100% on if you're all in or all out. parker: we want to see p&ls so we can understand the business, like, because that is gonna indicate to you what's happening. travis: quite frankly, i don't really care about talking about the p&ls or any of that [bleep] parker: i think the most confusing thing for me

so far has just been, honestly, like, there's no one clear leader. like, i thought in my head, "oh, maybe that's marcus," but he's not a day-to-day operator. juli: and we don't turn to him for that. parker: and we don't -- exactly. so, like, we need a day-to-day leader. it's confusing right now. there's five of us having side conversations and no clear leader. juli: and who do you envision being the leader, like, in your grand scenario? parker: like, me. juli: no disrespect. i don't even think you're a leader in your own relationship with taylor. parker: again, i think -- juli: i think taylor would be the one that people would assume is the leader. parker: but -- juli: so, i don't understand, out of the whole -- parker: yeah, probably because you don't know where we came from, but i'm pretty sure that i ran the biggest business before out of all of us. brad: so, what's that business? parker: feat. on our own, i think i ran the biggest business. i agree that you guys are running the biggest business now, but i ran the biggest business. travis: how much revenue did you do? parker: $2.5, like -- travis: a year? parker: yeah. travis: no, but in totality, like, that business that you ran by yourself? taylor: it doesn't have to be a -- travis: no. i'm just curious. i'm just curious.

parker: a pissing contest. yeah. travis: no, it's cool because -- no, it is a pissing contest. i ran a manufacturing company before i met marcus, and i did $10 million selling socks and greek apparel -- juli: yeah. i think we all have -- i don't even see how you've shown yourself a leader in this scenario. travis: for you to call yourself a leader and discredit me... parker: but that's -- no, travis, that's -- travis: ...and then say that i haven't ran multiple businesses that have done millions of dollars in sales -- i've actually done more than you in three businesses that i've owned. you haven't taken the time to learn [bleep] i actually opened the office you're sitting in and painted the [bleep] walls. parker: no, that's fine. travis: and the desk that you have is in my office. so, i'm just curious what the [bleep] you guys are gonna do to lead the ship 'cause at this point, i'm over it. i'm over it. like, you guys figure it the [bleep] out. taylor: we don't have access to things that matter to figure it out better. lemonis: have you figured out your specific business entirely? taylor: no. lemonis: well, what the [bleep] nobody's stopping you from figuring that out. taylor: we're trying.

travis: you haven't taken the time to learn [bleep] ♪ ♪all strength ♪we ain't stoppin' believe me♪

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so you only pay for what you need? given my unique lifestyle, that'd be perfect! let me grab a pen and some paper. know what? i'm gonna switch now. just need my desk... my chair... and my phone. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ so, i'm just curious what the [bleep] you guys are gonna do to lead the ship 'cause at this point, i'm over it. i'm over it. like, you guys figure it the [bleep] out. ♪ juli: i just think it's offensive. and i think, honestly, like, from what we all just talked about, like, it just proves a point, to be honest. i would put you guys under travis. like, i would have travis oversee you because i think that travis is better at seeing the bigger picture. like, so, not that he's micro-managing you at all 'cause i don't believe in micro-managing. i don't think any of us operate that way.

it feels like you guys need a little bit more delegation. if this were just my business and marcus wasn't involved, i don't know what you guys have shown me that would make me want to hire you. -we're not getting offended to the point that we're leaving when you say we'd go under travis in the org chart. good. let's hear you out on that. like, i want to hear more about that. juli: yeah. taylor: same thing when parker says that. let's hear him out and let's understand each other versus, "i'm done with this, we're out." it's easy to have things get super personal, but it's like, let's just take a step back, and can we put these pieces together of the puzzle or not? juli: yeah. i think if we just maybe give ourselves some time and then come back together, it might be more productive just to, like, let all of the emotions settle and really get clear-headed. parker: cool. ♪ ♪ taylor: hi. lemonis: you don't have to stand... taylor: what? lemonis: ...and be all weird.

my team told me that taylor and parker want to have access to all of the financial data of all of the businesses because apparently they think they can run the business more efficiently. well, here's a news flash. your business wasn't run very efficiently, either. what's happening at the office? like, they don't want to work with you guys...at all. parker: who? trav and brad and juli? lemonis: all of them. taylor: as an owner of community, don't you think we should be able to see the p&ls for community? parker: without that, you can't understand the business. then you don't know what decisions to make. taylor: we asked juli. we asked travis. nobody knows -- lemonis: well, they know. they're just not giving it to you. parker: why? lemonis: ...'cause they don't trust you guys. they feel like you guys only care about yourself. parker: we think about business a little bit differently than they do by nature. like, we think about these businesses and where we can cut fat and where we should stop spending. lemonis: you come off, whether you realize it or not, a little arrogant. and you can understand that it comes off slightly insulting, like, "you guys don't know what the hell you're doing, so we want to see your p&l 'cause we think you guys are totally f'd up.

and we're gonna come in and we're gonna cut stuff 'cause we think you're wasting money." taylor: we don't have access to things that matter to figure it out better. lemonis: have you figured out your specific business entirely? taylor: no. lemonis: well, what the [bleep] nobody's stopping you from figuring that out. taylor: we're trying. lemonis: you've asked me more about p&l and balance sheets, and you can't even tell me how the glasses are made. parker: don't businesses live and die in the numbers, like -- lemonis: no. they live and die with the people and the product. but if you don't understand the product then it doesn't even matter what the p&l says. taylor: we're learning the product. lemonis: i don't know that you spent any time learning the product. taylor: okay. i don't know all the minute details of the product, sure. lemonis: well, i don't think that the fabrication of it and what's inside of it is really a minute detail. you are trying to crack all these codes instead of just doing what you were the best at. parker: yeah. lemonis: the reason i wanted to work with these guys is 'cause they have a fun side, a real talent for selling products. and instead of them focusing on driving revenue, driving sales, and driving visits to the website, they're focused on things that don't concern them, like the accounting process.

taylor: thank you for giving us the clarity that we needed on this. we're excited to go back to the team. lemonis: okay. let me know how it goes. travis: will do. ♪ parker: the hoodies are here. so retro. taylor: they're sick. parker: right? taylor: all right, brand-new hoodies just came in. parker, you want to show them to these people, but you don't want to show them to -- oh, i thought we're not showing them... parker: oh, okay. taylor: you guys have to vote on them. taylor: vote on the next one. [ cellphone rings ] brad: hey, steph. stephanie: hey. how are things going over there? brad: good. i'm here with juli, trav, taylor, and parker. taylor: yeah. i came by. you weren't there. they said you took off. i'm just trying to learn as -- no, nothing specific. i just wanted to see how everything operates. with others -- i don't care about your business.

i went and talked about just how cash works in general. i literally just wanted to understand everything more. stephanie: all right? taylor: cool. sorry for the misunderstanding. stephanie: okay. bye, guys. brad: bye, steph. taylor: what the [bleep] was that? travis: what happened? juli: what happened? travis: so, you went to their office. like, who did you actually talk to? taylor: so, i'm just trying to piece together everything. i want to talk to someone who's in the organization who knows the finances of these companies and understands finances. i was like, "hey, here's what i see with these businesses," not talking [bleep] it's very objective. these businesses aren't gonna make money, they're gonna do $8 million in sales, and they're gonna break even. is there a world we can make money on this? i'm serious. like, i didn't do anything i don't normally. like, i have no re-- i don't give a [bleep] about steph's business or her. juli: even sharing information about these businesses -- taylor: no. i told them that we're trying to be profitable. like, that's smart. travis: did you tell them that we weren't profitable, since we are trying to be profitable? taylor: [bleep] is a mess. juli: how is it a mess, taylor? because you don't even have all the information, you're saying.

taylor: but i've been asking for information since day one, juli. that was a setup by you guys. "we're gonna nail taylor." travis: that was not a setup. juli: okay, i think for right now, we can just -- travis: we're not trying to argue. taylor: i just -- i'm being accused from everyone. like, i'm trying to figure out whatever i can. i'm not playing these games anymore. juli: okay. taylor: i'm going for a quick walk, if anybody wants to come. want to come outside? travis: what'd you do, take your mic off? taylor: yeah, i took it off.

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want to come outside? travis: what'd you do, take your mic off? taylor: yeah, i took it off. lemonis: look, i knew taylor was in new york city speaking at some sort of event. but what i didn't know and what i just heard from multiple people on my team is that while he was in new york, he did something very inappropriate. why were you guys out here? taylor: because stephanie starts accusing me of talking [bleep] about her company and her, and i'm like, "stephanie, i don't know you, and i don't give a [bleep] about your company." lemonis: did you go to her office? taylor: i went to her office. lemonis: right. so, wait. if you don't care about stephanie or her business, why'd you go there? taylor: there's so many random numbers coming around. we want concrete numbers on the businesses. lemonis: i just don't understand why you want to go after everybody and their pay and their expenses. taylor: i'm almost consulting for these companies for free. lemonis: okay. taylor: and now i get destroyed for it. i don't want to talk. lemonis: you're not getting destroyed. taylor: i am. today i got accused by everyone. lemonis: you went to new york. you go to stephanie's office, which that is her office.

she's the president of that business. i don't know whether she was there or not. taylor: she wasn't there. lemonis: okay. most people wouldn't think it was cool if you walked into somebody's office and started talking to the employees that you've never met before without talking to the person that's actually responsible for the business. it's weird. taylor: if it was all under the same thing -- lemonis: but it's not all under the same thing. taylor: maybe i misunderstood. i thought this was all kind of -- i don't unders-- yeah. i'm trying. lemonis: but it's not. ml fashion is a completely separate company from community. and while it was totally inappropriate for him to go into stephanie's office, talk to stephanie's employees, and ask them a bunch of questions, it was also inappropriate for him to be involved in any business that doesn't concern him. taylor: if there's a world where we can try to make all this more efficient by doing things that we've learned from our business -- lemonis: why is it your business? taylor: 'cause i'm trying to understand what -- lemonis: mind your [bleep] business. do you find it to be a good use of time, early on in the relationship, being the cop or the principal? taylor: sorry if we came in like the cop.

we came in like, "this is where we think we can add the most value because we just did..." lemonis: well, you're not gonna add the most value by getting in and pissing people off. that's not a good way to add value. taylor seems to be more focused on cutting costs and cutting jobs than he is focused on doing what i brought him in to do, which is to drive traffic and drive sales. taylor: day one, we weren't included in any budget talks. and we're like, "guys, what's going on?" lemonis: well, let's ask them in front of them. taylor: okay. parker: yeah, let's go. lemonis: let's just do it in front of them. okay? i think what's happened in this particular process -- and i wanted to say it in front of everybody -- when you come into a new environment, you have to understand that everybody has warts. we took you warts and all, and i don't think you took us warts and all. and by the way, they never said to me, "does feat even make money?" they never asked. taylor: i feel like, for us, there was friction from day one. i'm literally getting zero extra dollars from coming here every day. it's been two months. i'm trying to keep my business in business, number one,

but then i'm getting pulled to go do this. dude, what the [bleep] is going on? like... charlotte: so, i think that mentality is the issue. it's that, like, "me, me, me, me" mentality. like, you came in here like, "what am i getting out of this? okay, i'm just gonna work on the businesses that are making money 'cause i want to make money." it's like, no, you got to be a team player. like, literally the name is community. you have to be a team player. lemonis: charlotte from everkin phone cases and aristotle from ellison eyewear happened to be in the l.a. office, and because their products are part of the community, i wanted them to sit in on this conversation. taylor: we're trying to focus on our own business and keep our own business afloat, and then at the same time, we're trying to join these other five business. it's like -- and then start another business, and it's like, for me, my brain's just going all over the place, like, "what do i work on?" aristotle: but in full fairness, i mean, to say that you were working -- i mean, you really didn't do anything with any of the other brands, just in full fairness. i mean, you had the opportunity. i think that you guys put a very minimal effort. lemonis: do you feel like they learned your business? aristotle: not at all. juli: i think the potential that you guys have -- like, we were excited about that.

you came in here with this opportunity to be a part of a team, and it never really felt like you wanted to be a part of the entire team. parker: before, this was just taylor and i sitting around, you know? it's different to work with more than just taylor. lemonis: sometimes people don't do well on teams. travis: i'd rather not fight with these guys every day. lemonis: i think the reality of it is that you guys have expectations that this group isn't going to be able to meet, not today, not tomorrow, not next year. brad: i just don't think these guys are gonna be happy ever with the way things are structured and working on other brands that aren't making money right away. lemonis: want them in the deal or not, brad? brad: i just don't think they can be in the deal. lemonis: juli, yes or no? juli: no. lemonis: travis? travis: i don't think it's possible. taylor: i'm sorry you feel that way. lemonis: i don't see how things move forward. i don't know how it's possible. but that's okay. you guys have been successful in your own right. so, community lives on. i think it's a concept that we all believe in. and we wish you guys a lot of luck. parker: appreciate that. lemonis: all right?

i'm sorry it didn't work out. taylor: it's okay. lemonis: this process definitely was one of the most disappointing processes that's happened to me in a long time because i've identified two very talented young men that i think could add a lot to anybody's business. i think ultimately that taylor and parker weren't a good fit for the organization because they didn't know how to meld themselves into the community. and rather than trying to square-peg round-hole things, sometimes you just need to cut bait and move on. good luck to you. parker: thank you. lemonis: nice meeting you. good luck. ♪ ♪

. i'm craig melvin. and i'm natalie morales. and this is "dateline." he's just my first love. narrator: the guy who disappeared. except in her case, he really disappeared. woman: he's going to call me on a couple days. he never called. narrator: his family, in agony. i wrote letters to oprah winfrey, to "america's most wanted." narrator: a rookie detective finally broke the case. i said, oh my gosh. i think i've hit paydirt. narrator: a strange phone call revealed a secret. david needed to be gotten rid of. now we got the real story. narrator: a bombshell revelation. was she really a bereaved ex?