Re: Scarfman, I can't re-build my reputation. Are you joking? It's buried under a mountain of rubble. I just posted answering a question someone asked here. I was linked to it by a member. And there were some RPF members who had other questions. I've been a total recluse for over a decade since what happened at Icons. I can't ever redeem myself or even be forgiven.
As far as Icons purposely taking customers money when it knew it was going under, nothing could be farther from the truth. Guy Raz, who served 3 years in a Federal Prsion for cyber-stalking a 12 year old girl, is the one who spearheaded the FBI investigation into Icons and helped sabotage our public offering. Using the Internet as a tool to encourage customers to cancel their orders. This lead to a bull run on demanding customer refunds. When so much of Icons funding has gone into R & D and mastering.
Ever master / tool a B-9 Robot and full-size Endoskeleton? Know how much that cost? Icons shipped 10 B-9's and 8 Endoskeletons so we completed the tooling / mastering for both. But they cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to master & tool.
At the time Icons products were being sold on QVC, The Home Shopping Network, Sharper Image, FAO Schwarz, The Smithsonian, Disneyland, Disney World and Universal Studios. What fly-by-night company with studio licenses with all of the majors does what you are accusing Icons of doing?
Imagine what it was like for me, when the FBI, after 6 interviews with them behind steel gated doors, to profile Guy Raz as a stalker of Icons and myself. And then arrest him for same. While they cleared me of all acqusations. I was given an enema by the FEDS. My personal bank records examined and scrutinized. A Grand Jury convened and was dismissed. But it was too late. My reputation destroyed. I was never charged with anything.
Bottomine is Icons was encouraged to continue to expand and not downsize by it's investment bankers. We were told our factory was going to become a product inventory fulfillment warehouse once Icons began making most of our product in the Pacific Rim. Not to downsize. Not to lay-off employees. This while they handed us checks for 50K to 100K. Why? Because they considered Icons "sexy" to sell to investors. But all they wanted was their 15% commission on raising capital. They had ZERO plans to take Icons public. They inflated her and then they abandon her. They never planned on taking her public.
Who in would risk everything they had built, everything they loved and dreamed in, to simply destroy it? I lost everything. My home, my collection, my savings, the stock I owned in Icons and my reputation. Why? Because I never gave up hope. And I stayed with the sinking ship.
I couldn't believe that a company with such huge potential, amazing licenses and best selling product would be allowed to fail. But that is the way of the world and business. And this is what America has become. A foreshadowing of what was to happen to many American companies. Wall St. was scummy then, and they are scummy now. They feed on great companies and vision like scavengers. This is the truth of it.
Icons occupied a 12,500 swuare foot factory and had 65 employees. It raised over 1.7 million in venture capital and was poised for a 5 million dollar small cap IPO. Had that happened the rest would be history.