A winning business model - The American Business Journal

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ENTREPRENEUR STORY • ACN Inc.
ACN INC.
www.acninc.com
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ENTREPRENEUR STORY • ACN Inc.
002
ACN Inc.
Going beyond the
e call
FEBRUARY 2010 • The American Business Journal
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ENTREPRENEUR STORY • ACN Inc.
From a one product, one country start-up to a
multi-service industry giant backed by the personal endorsement of Donald Trump himself,
ACN Inc. is changing the way people think about
and purchase their essential services for good.
ACN began in 1993 as a direct seller of long distance
services in the United States and in just 18 short
years they have expanded to become the largest direct seller of telecommunications and home services
in the world. It’s a role they don’t take lightly, and a
journey that wasn’t always easy. In fact, according to
co-founders Greg Provenzano, Robert Stevanovski,
Mike Cupisz and Tony Cupisz, ACN began out of necessity for themselves and their families.
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ENTREPRENEUR STORY • ACN Inc.
FEBRUARY 2010 • The American Business Journal
From humble beginnings
work and designed ACN around everything we
The four co-founders met in 1992 through mu-
knew would work. And it’s those same principles
tual friends. They’d each shared experiences in
that continue to guide ACN today.”
network marketing and were looking for a better
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Three months later, in January of 1993, ACN
way. But at the end of the day, they knew one
was born as a reseller of long distance services
thing: network marketing worked if you had the
in the United States. As ACN experienced suc-
right products and the right leadership.
cess, the founders reinvested back into the com-
“We had all been with other network market-
pany, expanding from one product in one country
ing companies and it was clear to us what worked
to multiple products and services in 20 countries
and what didn’t,” said Greg Provenzano, ACN Pres-
in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.
ident. “So we made a list of what wouldn’t work
and a list of what we knew would work. We split
To a leader in the marketplace
that list down the middle, threw out what wouldn’t
Today, in North America, ACN offers traditional
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ENTREPRENEUR STORY • ACN Inc.
ACN CO-FOUNDERS: In no particular order, Greg Prorenzano, Robert Steranovski, mike cupisz and tony cupisz. ▲
FEBRUARY 2010 • The American Business Journal
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local and long distance services, DSL, satellite
TV, home security, as well as gas and electricity
in the Canadian marketplace. But their flagship
product is ACN Digital Phone Service along with
their revolutionary ACN Video Phone.
“Had you told me 18 years ago that our
flagship product would be technology that allows people to see the person they are talking
to, I would have never believed it. That was only
something we saw on television or in Sci-Fi movies,” Provenzano says. “We have revolutionized
the way people communicate and made the
future a reality today.”
ACN’s Video Phone technology, powered by
their own Digital Phone Service network, allows
people to communicate over the Internet—not
just verbally but visually.
Industry experts anticipate having over 200
million users worldwide within the next few years,
and ACN is ahead of the technology curve, as they
are now the largest distributor of video phones,
not only in North America, but in the world. And
according to Provenzano this wasn’t by accident.
“To remain a leader in our industry, we constantly have to reinvent ourselves and our products to meet the needs of consumers,” he says.
“In fact, at ACN, we make it our business to stay
out in front of every technology shift, to be proactive and never reactive. If there is a new technol-
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ENTREPRENEUR STORY • ACN Inc.
ogy on the horizon, we position ourselves ahead
out advertising, these companies simply cannot
of that technology so that we can be a driving
get their products and services to end custom-
force behind it.”
ers. Instead of using traditional, costly marketing methods that often prove ineffective, ACN’s
A winning business model
unique direct sales model positions its Indepen-
But it’s not just the products and services that
dent Representatives around the world to simply
count. In fact, according to Provenzano, the prod-
share these products and services with people
ucts and services are only half the equation; it’s
they already know. As a result, ACN by-passes
finding the right distribution model to get these
traditional advertising and in turn passes those
products and services to the end consumer.
savings directly to the consumers­—while creating
“The combination of these two aspects is
what has given us our uniqueness in the market-
a lucrative business opportunity for individuals
on a part-time or full-time basis.
place—we have married the concept of direct sales
with telecommunications and home services.”
According to Provenzano, in this economy,
The Trump factor
Believe it or not, the innovative and ambitious
many companies are forced to cut or even
Founders have another wild card in their pocket.
eliminate their advertising budgets, and with-
That is, Donald Trump’s endorsement and over-
Direct Selling
Industry is Exploding
►
• 175,000 new distributors in the U.S. weekly & 475,000
globally
• Growth over next 10 years expected to be higher
than entire prior 50 years
• More than 13 million people across the United States
and more than 58 million people globally have
discovered direct selling as a viable alternative to
traditional careers
• Annual sales of $30 billion in the United States
• Over $100 billion worldwide
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all stamp of approval on ACN’s business model.
In fact, ACN’s co-founders have never been con-
Interestingly enough, the company has had a
tent to stand still.
strong business relationship with Donald Trump’s
“We’re always looking for a way to up our
organization since 2006. Three years later, he
game, in turn creating a better business oppor-
turned the spotlight on ACN.
tunity for our representatives and a better experi-
“We met with Mr. Trump and he loved what
he saw in regards to our leadership team, orga-
ence for our customers,” says Provenzano.
To stay competitive in the industry, ACN’s
nizational structure, our products and services,
co-founders invested early and purchased the
and the overall business model of ACN,” tells
controlling interest of a video phone technology
Provenzano. He adds, Mr. Trump believes “we are
company by the name of World Gate, which they
well-positioned to compete in the video phone
believe has the premiere video phone technol-
space,” based on the extensive research his or-
ogy. “Right now, they are designing the next
ganization did on ACN.
generation video phone which will feature real
Because of the company’s uniqueness in the
time HD-quality streaming video that will build
marketplace and leadership in video phone tech-
upon the quality of our existing video phone. We
nology, the Trump organization decided to put
see that coming down the pipe sometime in the
the spotlight on ACN in Trump’s reality TV show,
middle of 2010,” tells Provenzano.
The Celebrity Apprentice, which aired in March
A strong business plan, competitive products
2009. “Our experience on The Celebrity Appren-
and services, an incredible vision for the future
tice not only provided us with tremendous expo-
and a will to win have positioned ACN out in front
sure in the marketplace as a leading direct sales
of the telecommunications and home services
company, it also created incredible exposure and
industries. They’ve taken the world’s idea of com-
excitement around our video phone technology
munication beyond the call—and have revolution-
as well,” tells Provenzano. “We gave millions of
ized an entire industry along the way.
viewers a glimpse of what’s possible with our
ACN is a proud member of the Direct Selling
video phone technology.”
Association (DSA) in many countries. AB
Future plans
www.acninc.com
Growth and change is business as usual at ACN.
FEBRUARY 2010 • The American Business Journal
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