About a week ago we covered a co-founder conflict leading to Chris Record selling his stake in Tecademics.

Tecademics itself is no more and has been confederate into IQup.

Ane loose end that neither Tecademics co-founders Chris Record and Jim Piccolo or IQup seem bully to tie up however, is a missing $20,000 prize awarded to one of their affiliates.

Colton Fitzgerald is a former Tecademics affiliate. At a "Tec Talks 2017" event, Chris Tape named him equally winner of "$20,000 cash".

This was appear on-stage in forepart of an audience of Tecademics affiliates.

Fitzgerald won the $20,000 prize every bit part of Tecademic's "90 24-hour interval challenge".

In Fitzgerald's own words;

The mode that the Challenge worked was Tecademics was selling curriculum on how to do what'southward chosen "dropshipping".

The way it worked was you would sign up for a Shopify account, observe products from Red china that yous wanted to sell, add them to your Shopify shop, and then advertise them on Facebook.

Tecademics taught you lot how to practise this.

The ninety-Day Claiming was a marketing stunt in lodge for them to sell this curriculum.

If y'all signed upward for their free Facebook group, you lot would receive a daily complimentary training on how to make these online sales.

A big part of their marketing was most having a chance to win some really cool prizes if y'all hit certain sales goals.

Based on these sales goals, Fitzgerald generated $1000 in Shopify sales or Tecadmics commissions.

That earned him "the chance" to win $twenty,000, which was decided by raffle at the TecTalks 2017 upshot.

Chris Record did the raffle alive at the TecTalks 2017 outcome and ended up calling me on stage to receive the $20,000.

I was so pumped, he handed me the microphone and I gave a quick speech and everything.

That was a huge moment for me. I really thought it was going to skyrocket my business organization because now I had the kind of funding that I needed to go real results.

For the residue of the event and days afterward, nobody from Tecademics approached Fitzgerald about collecting his prize.

Eventually Fitzgerald called Tecadmics for an explanation, but to be seemingly stonewalled.

Emails to Jim Piccolo went unanswered, as did attempts to contact then Tecademics President, Phillip Lechter.

Jim Piccolo was terrible with responding to what I had to say and Phillip Lechter would but let the phone ring when I tried to call him.

Later a menses of time, I started calling Phillip Lechter twice a day just to try and go him to answer, and he would just allow it band until voicemail.

When I did eventually get on the phone with Phillip Lecher, he told me that the money was in "escrow".

At present, I know what Escrow is and I knew the money was never in escrow.

He lied to me so that I would get away and non bother him any longer.

After a few more phone meetings with Phil, I informed him that I would exist contacting an attorney most this.

He seriously told me: "Getting an attorney won't get y'all paid any faster. He can send a demand alphabetic character, but information technology won't do anything."

Upon contacting Chris Record about the missing prize, Record told Fitzgerald he'd "sold out" and had "no control" over whether they paid him.

Since going public with his story, Tecademics/IQup claim Fitzgerald has cost the company "$xl,000 in damages".

What this figure is based on is unclear.

For his part Fitzgerald maintains Tecademics had no intention of ever honoring the awarded prize.

The only matter I tin do now is tell my story.

I promise people empathize that when companies do giveaways like this, they aren't always with the best intentions.

IQup meanwhile announced to have deferred responsibility to Chris Record.

As per a FAQ on the Tecademics website, the company advises the "xc-day Challenge Facebook group" is airtight to new members.

The 90-24-hour interval Claiming Facebook group is currently beingness managed by Chris Record directly.

We have no information if that group is going to exist opened for new participants in the future.

Sounds to me like the challenge is pointless if advertised prizes aren't existence awarded. Why would you lot even carp?