Hey Reddit, settle in because this one’s about patience, planning, and watching someone’s arrogance become their obituary. Here’s how my business partner thought he could screw me over and ended up screwing himself into bankruptcy instead. Name’s Cameron, 38, male.
And before you ask, yeah, I’m the guy who built a manufacturing consulting firm from nothing, poured six years of my life into it, and watched my partner try to lock me out like I was some intern he could ghost. Spoiler alert, it didn’t work out the way he planned. Let me set the stage.
This gets detailed because the details matter. Back in 2018, I met Jordan at a supply chain conference in Chicago. Second day, “woohoo” session on lean manufacturing.
Guy was smooth, knew the industry, had connections I didn’t. Sharp suit, confident handshake, talked about market opportunities like he’d already mapped them out. We started talking about gaps in the market, specifically how midsized manufacturers were getting destroyed because they couldn’t afford the big consulting firms, but desperately needed operational overhauls.
The big firms charged $350 per hour minimum. Small manufacturers couldn’t afford it. They’d limp along with inefficient processes, bleeding money until they either got acquired or went under.
Meanwhile, guys like us, industry veterans who understood production systems, could offer the same expertise for half the cost and still make solid margins. We sketched out a business model on cocktail napkins that night. Revenue projections, service offerings, target client profiles.
Jordan saw the sales side. I saw the operational execution. Perfect partnership.
Or so I thought. Six months later, we filed the LLC papers for Pinnacle Operations Group. Clean 50/50 split.
Operating agreement drafted by a lawyer I knew from a previous job. Everything documented, signed, notarized. We each put in $40,000 seed money.
I liquidated some investments. Jordan claimed he did the same, though I never saw proof. The division of labor was simple.
I handled operations, client work, process optimization. Basically, everything that required actual expertise. Jordan handled sales, client acquisition, and networking.
Basically, everything that required showing up and looking good. It worked because our skills complemented each other. I was the engine.
The story doesn’t end here — it continues on the next page.
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