Comments on: iSOLD IT: CEO Ken Sully Killed in Crash

By: Lou

Lou — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:56:57 +0000

Life does give hand us all some ironic twists. I met Ken during the I Sold It sales pitch when I investigated opening 3 stores. He seemed nice enough but was certainly the type one might associate with money and slick business dealings. Nothing illegal or deceptive, just slick. Anyway, what an irony that the few times I’ve thought of him in the past 6 years were with a bit of envey (and yes, dislike) that he was living the Good Life while so many were struggling under the I Sold It franchise concept. Me perspective on “what’s fair” has forever been altered after seeing first hand how a few can prosper at the expense of many suffering. I lost only $70k getting involved in I Sold It since I bailed before I fully opened a store once the reality set in that I shouldn’t chase bad money with good. The repercussions of that loss have affected my once strict religious life, my 23 year marriage (now ended in divorce) my health, and my prospects of getting ahead financially. I’m a different person because I let myself be sucked in. No one twisted my arm but I certainly swallowed the sales pitch and wanted to be a part of this new business concept. I take the blame but I won’t shed too many tears for Ken. He lived in the fast lane and I think it finally caught up with him.

By: blah

blah — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:07:08 +0000

Sully was a thief and a tool. He got out easy….

By: Chance

Chance — Tue, 05 May 2009 04:40:09 +0000

Excuse me but not everyone saw Sully through rose colored glasses! My condolences for the family, but they are well aware of the truth about him. In fact, he was a VERY nasty man not only with iSoldit, but Mailboxes Etc., and as of yet NO iSoldit store (of the few that are left) is in the black at any consistent rate if at all. As for the 200 plus exfrancisees and their families, getting on with their lives after bankruptcy, divorce, heart attacks, suicide attempts, and total loss of there life savings, will take alot of time if not the rest of their lives. I would venture to say that $40,000 could have helped any number of them (including those that Sully gagged and paid off-OH YES HE DID)! The negative facts, are the facts, and if Sully’s death will keep one more family from being screwed by him, then there is nothing wrong with saying so! Thats life (or death), and sometimes it’s a blessing!

By: Angel

Angel — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 02:47:49 +0000

What I am thinking is it took two years to reserve that 40,000.00 Decati, and in two weeks it was the means in his unfortunate accident… Just as He once said about the franchisees that lost their in iSold it business and life savings it was because they didn’t have the experience …. Maybe he needed experience on his bike and as devastating as this is I guess as many former franchisees his family will need to go on and rebuild theire lives …It may be a struggle but hey that’s life. I guess They’ll manage.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 18:13:52 +0000

There is another side to every story….glad to see that someone was not afraid to voice that you make stupid comments! I am the woman that you berated in your story on the Dominos driver that killed my puppy. To all the stupid, heartless people that made fun of me…..the Dominos owner asked me what they could do…and then a few weeks later I asked them if they could give me the money to buy another puppy(not 900.00). She then said that she would talk to her husband and get back to me the next day, which never happened. What I did get was a dozen roses. You need to get your story straight and never judge anyone!

By: Archee

Archee — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 21:31:14 +0000

As someone who worked for Ken, I can say first hand that he was a very kind and caring person. I am very saddened by his untimely and tragic passing. My thoughts and prayers are with his wife and daughter who must now continue their lives without him.

By: Carol Cross

Carol Cross — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 18:21:16 +0000

Sean! I don’t think you were out of line. While it is sad that Ken’s life ended in such a tragic manner and while you understand, personally, the pain this brings to his wife and daughter, this does not make your reporting on “I Sold It” untrue because he has now passed away.

The “greater good” you served in reporting the “I Sold It” troubles is still served in reminding others, even today, that this concept, that was touted by Entrepreneur as a real winner, was not a winner for great numbers of the franchisees who lost everything. Your warning on Franchise Pick saved others that you cannot know about.

This incident demonstrates the conflict that exists between successful franchisees and unsuccessful franchisees within franchise systems and, of course, those who have had a success with “I Sold It” have fond memories of Ken, and those who lost their entire investments do not and out of their remembered pain, they make unkind remarks.

The poster who indicates that Ken would not be involved with any kind of “fraud” doesn’t understand the mindset of those who first invested and took great losses and who believed they were defrauded by Ken because the system wasn’t tested and proven when sold to the original “I Sold It” franchisees.

Don’t be so hard on yourself, Sean!

By: ex franchisee

ex franchisee — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 16:45:27 +0000

I was shocked when I heard this news. It is truly sad that Ken Sully’s life was cut short. Condolences to his wife and family. As a “former franchisee” the dealings I had with Ken, and others had with Ken were, shall we say – a one sided disaster for the many franchisees that lost their businesses, homes, families, etc”. Sean, You are right that the other side of Ken can be seen in the posts of this website. I am sure that Ken will be remembered by his family and friends a warm caring individual. But, when I asked my therapist, why I am having the feelings I have- it was told to me. Your feelings are Your feelings.

It is quite surprising, that there is still no mention of Ken’s passing on the i-sold it web site.

By: Sean Kelly

Sean Kelly — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 12:20:58 +0000

Mike:

You’re right. My last comment is a bit harsh in this context, and not appropriate. This post was not intended to prompt negative comments, and I am glad to read messages like yours and sunnieh’s that show that there’s another side to the story than has been revealed in the hundreds of comments about iSOLD It that have been posted here in the past two years.

In fact, I will ask that this thread only contain positive comments from this point on. I will also break my own policy and delete my comment.

This site is not so much about my opinion as it is about the opinions of our commenters. The fact remains, Mike, that if you Google the name “Ken Sully” this website comes up first or close to it. This is due to nearly 1000 comments left here about Ken and iSold It, mostly negative.

All I know about this comes from my observations and, mostly, my commenters. On the dozens of posts I’ve written about iSold It in the past 2 years, I don’t recall anyone stepping forward to give the other side of the story, including employees or franchisees.

In fact, your comment above is the first that I can recall by a franchisee stepping up to defend Ken, the company or the concept.

Please let others know that if they would like to leave a tribute, describe the progress of the last two years, or otherwise offset all the negativity that has been expressed here, this is an opportunity to do it without rebuttal.

By: Mike

Mike — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 02:54:01 +0000

Wow Sean, If I didn’t know better I might think that you wrote this article just so that you could beat a dead man. If thats the case then you really need help. What ever happened to the saying “rest in peace”? Is nothing sacred anymore?