Marcus Lemonis Gets Snookered by 240Sweet

240Sweet is a maker of marshmallows launched in 2008 just outside of Indiannapolis, Indiana. The owners are Alexa Lemley and Samantha Aulick, a married couple.

Frankly speaking, I don’t know where to begin with this episode. This could well be the most unpleasant episode of the past three years. If not, it certainly ties with Maarse Florists, LA Dog Works, Skullduggery, and WorldTrailers for the worst of the worst.

Right from the get go, the viewer picks up on the fact that something is terribly wrong with the situation and that it was likely going to result in Marcus walking away. First we discover that the marshmallows stink of various spices, onions, sauerkraut, and even garlic. When Marcus tastes some he winces at the unusual odors.

Then we learn that Alexa’s father’s spice business is responsible for the bad smells. Not only are Max’s spices ruining the marshmallows, but he has taken over about 90% of their total floor space. On top of all that he is about four months in arrears on his rent to Alexa and Sam.

At this point the viewer is left wondering if this is some sort of early April Fools gag Marcus is pulling on his audience. This cannot be real. No one can be in business selling garlic and onion flavored marshmallows, right?

But sadly it’s not a gag. 240Sweet is trying to be a real business.

For a few minutes I found myself thinking that if they could just get Max to move out with his spices 240Sweet might stand a chance, but I also suspected that there were bigger problems lurking under the surface.

Without getting into the ugly details, we discovered that Marcus had been lured in only to persuade Max to find new digs. A man was needed for the job. Otherwise Alexa and Sam had no real interest in having Marcus as their partner. This alone speaks volumes about the duo. Not only that but they passed on a golden opportunity to be mentored by someone who actually knows how to run a business and has access to capital. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

Kudos to Max for being a man of his word and moving out as promised although wouldn’t we all now prefer that he had stayed put? Garlic and sauerkraut marshmallows. Yum-yum.

I try really hard, when I get up in the morning, to make sure I'm the type of person who makes the world a better place.- Samantha Aulick

I try really hard, when I get up in the morning, to make sure I’m the type of person who makes the world a better place.- Samantha Aulick

At the end, Sam shows her true colors in the confrontation with Marcus. She admits on camera that she never had any real intention of working with him despite happily taking his money. (This also explains why both Alexa and Sam treated Pete from Sweet Pete’s so shabbily.) The sweet man came by to do them a big favor by showing them for free how to fix their drab tasteless caramel, and they behaved like a couple of teen ingrates.

And then finally, as if to leave no doubt at all about what kind of a person she is, Sam threatens Cindy, an employee who was unfortunate enough to be in the room at the time, for not jumping up to defend her when she was accused by Marcus of being a toxic personality.

Conclusions

Marcus needs to have better vetting of applicants for the show. This travesty should never have made it past the screening phase. I watch the show for its business lessons and not this kind of stuff.

The big lesson here is that you get what you see with people. Marcus should have spotted all the warning signs early on and left before he gave them a dime.

If you’re going to be unethical don’t do it in front of rolling cameras. It’s just plain dumb.

Maybe Marcus can do a deal with old Max who appears to have the business smarts in the family?

 

*** Could you be another Marcus? Find out. Here’s a career upgrade opportunity for you.

23 Responses to The Profit: Marcus and 240Sweet

  • That quote you used is so funny. Sam is the exact opposite of what she thinks she is. She is terribly deluded about herself. Totally toxic.

    • That Sam is a shining example of passive-aggressive disorder in action. She switches back and forth like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. If she doesn’t get her way with that blatantly phony nice act she turns into a mean junkyard dog as we saw at the end. Max is fortunate to be rid of those two twits.

  • Does anyone know how much money they took from Marcus? Can he recover it in some way?

  • My suspicion was that Max did not care for Sam. He could see right through her act. Then he did move out and I thought otherwise. He would have done Alexa a favor by remaining and driving a wedge between her and Sam.

  • Is there no recourse for Marcus and the fired employee/partner? Do they still retain
    their investment and partnership agreement?

    Was Marcus in 100% control or were these fraudsters calling all the shots? Fraud is
    still a crime.

  • What a horrible display on national television. Some people have no sense do they?

    http://i.imgur.com/B4zilLI.jpg

  • I was appalled by how Alexa and Sam screwed over poor Dede. They all agreed to give her 10% and then as soon as Marcus leaves they fire her. Shameful. Absolutely shameful.

  • All I can say is that old Sam certainly lived up to the stereotype of the “angry lesbian.” There’s a lot of rage simmering there against men. You could see it in how she treated Pete and Marcus at the end.

    • Sam almost came across as if she might hit Marcus at the end. She is probably a big bully in real life who thinks she can throw her immense weight around and intimidate people. Marcus just stood his ground and let the bitch know she wasn’t scaring him.

    • Sam and Alexa are the two biggest losers to appear on the show since the Skullduggery twats. Too bad Sam and Alexa are such big bull-dykes otherwise the four could marry.

  • Go check out their facebook page. The outrage is marvelous.

    Having a good product is one thing, treating people with respect is entirely something else. A lesson they are learning the hard way.

  • Sam : “Do you think I’m toxic Cindy?”

    Cindy stammers

    Sam : “Do you want your job, Cindy?”

    Sam is an asshole.

  • Alexa and samantha are a couple of assclowns. I hope they go out of business.

  • Here is a video review. Hope you like. What a bitch that Sam is.

  • Clearly 240Sweet is a shit company run by two shit people. That is all anyone needs to know about them. And who eats marshmallows anyways? People who want to be as fat as Sam and Alexa. Eeeewww.

  • I too would love to see these two witches go out of business and lose their shirts but you have to think about the employees. The best thing is for them to start looking for work elsewhere and move on as soon as possible. No one deserves to work under Sam and Alexa.

    And what is with Alexa’s pink and green hair? She’s 45 years old if she’s a day. It looks so stupid.

  • Is it any wonder these two awful people found one another and married? They make my blood boil.

    Despite that Marcus needs episodes like this every now and then to stir up the audience. So they find losers like these two women for that very purpose. This kind of intrigue generates buzz that can reach those who might not normally watch the show.

  • 240Sweet !

    You will never see one red penny of my hard earned money. Sam, you especially can stick your toxic attitude where the sun don’t shine.

  • Marcus has acquired marshmallows.com to get into the marshmallow business and drive those two nasty cows out of business!

  • What about the business itself? Lets ignore Sam and Alexa. Is it a smart business move to invest in a business that just sells a single junk food item?

    • It looks more like a hobby than a real business. Marshmallows? Anything else? Nope.

      Set aside the fact that Sam and Alexa are not nice people. Just focus on the business and its product line. Then you have to wonder if Marcus is really scraping the bottom of the barrel. Could he not have founder a real business to invest that episode into? Why waste all that product budget on 240Sweet? It makes no sense. Unless of course he knew what he was hedaing into and wanted just a high drama episode?

  • Marcus is really good at what he does, and he understands human nature. Psychologically speaking, when he realized what Sam and Alexa were up to he gave them enough rope to hang themselves. Judging from the responses I have read here most of the audience will not buy from them. Many of us would have ordered online but those orders are now lost. Perhaps kicking Max out will kick them in the rear when they can no longer make their bills….

  • Vengeance is mine saith the Lord! I’ll pay for it in the long run . Great way to treat your father

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