Start-up Shoply Review Rod Larsen, Nick Sarnicola, Ron Williams Are Back In The Game

Terry Lacore, founder and CEO of LaCore Enterprises, and known for his involvement in the leadership of bHIP, Prüvit and GNO, announced recently the launch of start-up Shoply.com.

Shoply’s website offers currently products from LaCore (co) owned companies, such as TAVA, Vi (Visalus), Lovvare, THriV and NRG. The Shoply website does not reveal the founders or management team. For Shoply partners there is a YouTube Channel available, with 117 videos and 3,400 subscribers.

Shoply logistics are most likely handled under the umbrella of LaCore enterprises, an USA MLM Services company with over $1 billion in annual combined sales with their (co) ownership in 30+ network marketing companies.

This article represents an impartial review of the Shoply opportunity, elucidating whether it truly stands out amongst its competitors. This review article is written by Team Business For Home and is fact checked by Ted Nuyten – CEO of Business For Home.

Shoply focuses on what it calls “decentralized commerce” and offer physical products as well as digital, and will “lean into social media influencers to promote its brand”. The corporate team and founders feature leaders from well-known (former) direct selling companies and include:

• Rod Larsen, CEO – Ex COO Jeunesse
• Nick Sarnicola, President – Ex CEO ViSalus
• Ron Williams –  Marketing Manager – Ex CEO Forevergreen
• Lyndon Biernoff, Investor and Non-Executive Director, ex Jeunesse Top Leader
• Christopher Cooper, Executive Director.

All-though the founders have been in the direct selling industry for many years and had awesome success, they certainly have witnessed, first hand, the decline of a number of companies they worked for or co-founded.

As leadership is vital for a start-up we delved into the background of the founders.

Rod(ney) Larsen‘s background:

Former CEO of Zija International.

Being formed in 2005 by Ken Brailsford, Zija International was a multi-million dollar network marketing company with tens of thousands of Independent Distributors and customers throughout the world. The company was sold off to Isagenix in 2020.

In 2021 Rod Larsen was appointed COO at Jeunesse. In 2023 Jeunesse was sold off to LaCore Enterprises.

Nick Sarnicola‘s background:

ViSalus. announced late 2016 that:

“Co-Founder and Global Ambassador, Nick Sarnicola, will become the new CEO of  ViSalus as of January 1, 2017, succeeding longtime Co-Founder and current CEO, Ryan Blair, who will remain with the company in a new role.”

ViSalus was a healthy lifestyle company committed to transforming life, health and prosperity around the world by creating meaningful connections, supporting physical transformations, and promoting entrepreneurial freedom. Through its flagship program, The Challenge, ViSalus had developed a leading platform for achieving weight-loss, health and fitness results.

From an high of approx. $500 million in sales, ViSalus faced a number of lawsuits: In July 2017 Visalus was sued for allegedly running a secret Amazon retail racket, placing the company in direct competition with its distributors.

In August 2017 Visalus was sued for allegedly misleading founding distributors out of promised share dividends. In 2019 what was left over from ViSalus was sold to Pruvit (a LaCore company) and ended as an non relevant Direct Sales company.

Ron Williams‘s background:

In april 2017 ForeverGreen announced:

“ForeverGreen a leading direct marketing company and provider of health-centered products, announced today the appointment of Rick Redford, as the company’s new CEO.

Ron Williams has resigned as the company’s President and CEO, and will remain as a member of the Board of Directors, as well as continue in a consulting role working directly with the leadership in the field.”

In the past 7 years Ron Williams has or is involved in MLM companies such Uforia Science (2018), MaVie (2020), Viral Compensation, SuperSports Global, SuperDraft Pro (2021) and PlayCare Health (2022). ForeverGreen was from 2004-2017 a well known opportunity, non of the other companies Ron Williams was involved are to much relevant today.

On LinkedIn Ron Williams calls himself “Shoply Chief Visionary Officer” however according to Terry LaCore’s press release Williams is Marketing Manager.

Shoply in Facts and Figures

The company is currently ranked 352 in terms of momentum among the 650+ global network marketing companies listed on the Business for Home (BFH) database. This worldwide rank is based on the Current Business for Home Momentum Rank.

According to the Similarweb Rank, Shoply holds the 97th position out of 650+ global network marketing companies in the BFH database, with a global rank of 203,832. This means the Shoply customer website is visited well.

In terms of user reviews on Business for Home, Shoply currently has a total of 2 reviews on Shoply’s review page, ranking it at position 213 out of the 650+ companies. As per the BFH database, the company has one recommended distributor and no top earners as of yet.

Facts and figures as of the day of publication of this article. The ranks are calculated based on 650+ world-wide network marketing companies in the Business for Home database.

• Business for Home Rating: A+
• Current Business for Home Momentum Rank: 352
• Number of Recommended Distributors: 1 (Rank 97)
• Similarweb Rank: 203,832 (Rank 97)
• YouTube views: 0 (Rank 501)
• Shoply has 2 reviews on Business for Home (Rank 213)
• CEO of Shoply: Rod Larsen
• Company Country: US

Data provide by the proprietary Business for Home Intelligence Engine

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Recommended Distributors Shoply

View "Aaron Byerlee"

Aaron Byerlee

You might want to team up with a Shoply recommended distributor. You find them above and at the bottom of this article.

Here’s a glimpse of what people are writing about Shoply

The reviews for Shoply, available on the Business for Home review page, indicate a sense of satisfaction amongst its users. Most reviewers seem to believe in the potential of Shoply and openly appreciate its operational model.

• Aaron Byerlee, for instance, describes Shoply as

“A refreshing model for entrepreneurs. The platform’s ability to offer 3% recurring commission on each product introduced to the global platform presents an “amazing income potential.” Byerlee is quoted as saying,

“Shoply is also a refreshing platform for those affiliates and Influencers that just want to market various products online and keep 100% of their commissions.”

Further, he believes the platform is a “game changer” for vendors looking for a decentralized alternative to market their products.

Monica Moves, another reviewer, also shares a positive perspective of Shoply.

She speaks highly of the platform’s leadership and the comprehensive and informative training programs it provides. Monica also praises the company’s compensation plan, describing it as “remarkable” and one that recognizes and rewards hard work. Quoted directly, Monica asserts,

“With Shoply, you have the perfect blend of leadership, training, and compensation to ensure your success.”

The accolades from both Aaron and Monica signify that Shoply is a platform that rewards hard work and initiative. Its innovative model offers an enterprise with potential for those willing to capitalize on it. The consensus indicates that Shoply is a promising platform for both seasoned business owners and aspiring affiliates, providing them with every tool necessary for success.

Shoply’s position on the company rank page further substantiates these reviews, showing it as a platform that has managed to make significant strides in its industry.

For those interested in leveraging Shoply’s full potential, finding the right distributor can be pivotal. Here are some recommended Shoply distributors to get you on the fast track to success.

Shoply conclusion

Shoply, a network marketing company, saw impressive growth in free and paid sign ups. Based on the detailed analysis on Business for Home, it seems like joining Shoply as a distributor could be an interesting opportunity.

However Shoply’s present social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and twitter/X are by far underperforming. For a company which position itself as a “Global Game Changer” and will lean into “social media influencers to promote its brand” a very quick fix is necessary.

Shoply’s customer website is performing poor, we noticed dead links and few products are available to order. It looks now like a cobbled together project. Somebody has to waken up Shoply Marketing department for fixes.

From a recruitment point of view, Shoply’s Partner Youtube channel has impressive content with 170,000 views. If we compare the customer content on Shoply.com and recruitment content then it is clear recruitment at this point is king. For a start-up we understand that, however on the long run Shoply should offer attractive customer deals. Just putting in a few products of Terry LaCore’s other MLM companies is not enough in      our opinion.

All-though the founders have been in the direct selling industry for many years and had awesome success, they certainly have witnessed, first hand, the decline of a number of companies they worked for or co-founded.

The Direct Selling industry is changing fast, we hope Shoply can adapt changes and fixes fast. Start-up hype alone does not build a long lasting Network Marketing Company and will faint away.

As with all opportunities, success cannot be promised or guaranteed. Success within the Network Marketing channel results only from successful sales efforts, building up a customer and affiliate team, which require hard work, diligence, skill, persistence, competence, and leadership.