MSI / Think Partnership Up To Their Old Tricks
MarketSmart Interactive just doesn’t quit. The take you in, tell you they love you, build you up, then beat you down. Repeatedly. I’ve heard the rumors going around of these Cease and Desist letters that were sent to employees that were most recently LAID OFF and telling them they are no longer allowed to continue business in search.
I had talked to a few former employees and they have confirmed that this appalling behavior was in fact true. MSI / MSA / ThinkPartnership has sent employees Cease and Desist letters. I still find it hard to believe so I’m sure you do, well here is a copy of the letter that was given to me as it was given to me with one exception, I have removed names of employees for their sake. Read it and let us know what you think in the comments. I’ll let you come to your own conclusions before I give my thoughts.
The one thing in this letter is they claim that X person contacted clients of MSI or what’s left of MSI. The people who have received these letters have assured me that this is NOT the case and they are simply making claims that have no merit. Frankly, I believe the employees rather then this craptastic company.
*If the letter opens up small, right click here and choose “Save Picture As”
Other Interesting MarketSmart / ThinkPartnership Posts
- Mine are: Here, Here, Here, and Here
-Brents are Here, Here and Here
-Scooter’s is here
-Garrett’s is here
-Tansy’s is here
there are tons more but you should be able to find them from those links.
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14 Responses to “MSI / Think Partnership Up To Their Old Tricks”
when we all going to file that class action lawsuit over the way they fucked with the SEC filings?
If 48 Hours and Encyclopedia Brown had a baby, it would be you. i’m not even going to ask what you had to do to get this.
Tobias Teeter is the founder of Litmus Media (which THK bought back in 1/06 or 2/06. I think). He has his JD from the University of Missouri School of Law and is a member of the Missouri bar.
Just my take, but i wouldn’t let them bully/intimidate you. This is just an attempt to try and strongarm people by using a person in their company who can put “attorney” beside his name to intimidate you into complying with their ridiculous demands.
i’m sure i’l get blasted by upteen “anonymous” comments for saying this, but if they were so concerned about trying to keep clients, they wouldn’t have let a bunch of incompetant boobs run it into the ground.
a few things:
-they laid you off
- NC is a right to work state
- you have families to feed
I do not see how this would ever hold up in court, but then again, i’ve never seen the non-compete agreement.
Anyway, best of luck to any of you that have received this letter. If anyone is looking for a good lawyer, i know many.
Add this to the rumors that they lost everyone’s tax information and I-9s and you have one hell of a story.
Unbelievable, these people are.
^ I haven’t got mine yet…can anyone substantiate this?
Also, i spelled “incompetent” wrong. that is embarrassing.
Fuck Them, I got one of these damn letters too and ya know what, kiss my ass I never signed the non-compete and I don’t have a 9-5 yet.
IF I had happened to sign the Non-Comp lets look at the facts:
NC is a right to work state
The agreements say the ENTIRE WORLD is the boundary.
They changed names 3 times and never made anyone sign a new non-comp.
I can’t wait for them to find a copy of my non-comp, they’ll be looking for a while.
The I-9’s are generated out of Great Plains (the accounting system at MSI-MSA-THK-Kowabunga…ect), so they are not lost. The lazy person who is running the operation over there still probably doesn’t want to do (its a pain in the ass) the work or was told by someone above them to hold them as long as possible so they can get some “Temp” to come out and print them out. As far as I know, anyone who received a $50 (ha) bonus at the end of the week will receive an I-9.
If you did not sign a non-compete when you were working at this wonderful place, there is nothing anyone can do or say about what you do in next next venture. If you did sign one, well, then its legally binding regardless of the name of the company. If you are not sure, just ask and they should provide a copy of that for you. If they don’t brandish that for you tell them to “Suck it”.
Mostly likely your non-compete if you had one was with keywordranking or websourced - which is long gone.
MSI doesn’t have clients becasue MSI doesn’t exists.
Just a couple of comments on the cease and desist. I was locked in by a non-compete several years ago (and also signed the MSI b.s.) I remember reading it VERY carefully because I paid my attorney a LOT of money over the first non-compete and did not want to get locked into anything again.
- NC IS a “work at will” state. We each have the right to make a living in our trained field.
- The letter Evan has posted (you really need to be a detective Evan!) clearly states that no one who signed the contract can now go after any MSI (WS or KWR) clients that are UNDER contract. I remember this verbiage from the contract. When I left MSI in April I had several clients call me and want to come with me. I made it very clear to them that (per the contract I signed) I could not talk to them as long as they were under contract or under discussion with MSI. If they wanted to contact me to discuss business after their contract had expired and they had decided they would not do further business with MSI then hey- give me a call.
My advise- stay away from any clients under contract with MSI until they are clear and free of them. As for making a living- have at it, no one can stop you. You can NOT court any MSI clients for yourself or any other company, but you can make a living in an area you are trained in.
I am guessing that MSI still exists as a legal entity, likely filing paperwork to be a subsidiary of MSA.
Best of luck to all of you, hang in there!
Dawn
Evan, just FYI…
“The people who have received these letters have assured me that this is NOT the case and they are simply making claims that have no merit.”
You were lied to.
Can somebody please stick a fork in SEL?
It’s been out to pasture since Garrett left and is a miserable shell of itself.
“I can’t wait for them to find a copy of my non-comp, they’ll be looking for a while. ”
They’d be looking a long time for me. Mine went into the trash can on day one.
Evan,
I agree with Swiller. You were lied to. It is amazing that people would propagate such untruths and still be able to live with themselves and look themselves in the mirror.
Signed,
Anyone Who Was Ever In A Position Of Authority At MSI
got to love this one
http://msa-msi-thinkpartnership-sucks.blogspot.com/
Folks, just to clarify, trying to restrict you from working in the search space is ridiculous and has no merit; especially in light of the fact that you were laid off and due to the fact that ex-MSI employees have landed at MSN, Channel Advisor, Fortune Interactive, and many other search marketing companies……they havent been sued!
While you are free & clear to work, you should be VERY careful about contacting existing MSI clients. Even though they will probably all drop MSI, let the dust settle….don’t jump the gun and get yourself into a lawsuit b/c soliciting existing clients of a former employer can be punishable in NC.
-Anon