I don't think anyone said Parsi is a scam artist. But there comes a time for most founders to step aside because they have reached their highest level of competence.
Parsi is no Steve Jobs. So, I don't see him as being the guy to lead this company as a CEO to 100+ stores. Taking another position with the company, as most founders do, would be the next logical step. Being a stockbroker (a salesman) doesn't mean he'll be a good CEO.
As I've written before, he is enamored with celebrities and has the Hollywood mindset of thinking big even when it's not beneficial to do so.
He wants to sprint when he just learned to walk. This ends up like what we have, nothing getting accomplished. It's a lack of focus...6-12 stores, a food line, Bahrain, franchising, celebrities...is a scattered path.
He could have built one more store without Jillian, the other consultants, the celebrity chef, etc. If he just focused on one store instead, that would lead to two stores and so on.
Signing up specialists, consultants, etc. is not a major task and is overkill at this point because it detracts from opening another store. Parsi wanting to start a branded food line before he has a brand to base it on shows he's trying to do too much, too soon.
Star Wars had a successful movie THEN they promoted their merchandise. They did NOT come out with a toy line and then a movie afterwards to promote the toys.
Focus. Plus, it's usually better to under promise and over deliver, not the other way around.
Stock manipulation according to the SEC. "Making false or misleading statements about a company."
AI
