Letter No. 12: "You'll figure it out."
To Rich Froning, who (through opportunity) helped us beat a surprise eviction.
Rich,
You didn’t know what we were battling at the time as a family. But here’s the long and short of it. Our work together saved the lives of Lindsey and my children. In 2013, my family avoided homelessness by about six days and this is the first I’ve ever said anything about it. It was our second eviction in just five years. By then, I was accustomed to setbacks but antagonists coming after my children’s lives was a new level.
By that point, Mizzen+Main was a perceived success in the eCommerce industry but since we were bootstrapping the company, we weren’t paying ourselves. In fact, I worked freelance jobs (in addition to working with you) to pay the bills while working full-time on building the “next great American brand.”
While the good times appeared to be rolling with Mizzen+Main, my family quietly received a letter from the state of Ohio. It was August of 2013 and we were informed that we had less than 60 days before we’d be evicted from our rental home in Columbus. To prevent any outcry or further embarrassment for my family, I simply didn’t fight it. To make matters worse, my military record – at the time – prevented us from leasing any place that wasn’t privately arranged.
So I had two options:
the first and less savory option would have been my separation from my family to allow them to find a suitable place to live
the second was the purchase of a house in the right place and at the right time
At the time, I felt the second option to be close to impossible
Why Rich Froning? began my letter to Nike on November 17, 2012.
To do that, my family had about two months to make an extra $70,000 for a down payment on a home. At the time, the idea of earning more in two months than I’d ever made in a year seemed impossible. Our take home income — at the time — just barely exceeded that number. But I had to do the impossible or else there was a good chance my family would be homeless . To understand your impact and how I kept a roof over their heads, I need to go back to 2012 and the first letter that I wrote on your behalf:
Why Rich Froning? began my letter to Nike on November 17, 2012. Just weeks earlier, you asked me to be your sports agent and I figured I would take the biggest shot possible. I told you, then, that I had no relevant experience to which you replied, “You’ll figure it out.” Over the next several months, we worked to negotiate deals with a number of smaller companies and then the major companies trickled in: Rogue, Rehband, Oakley, and Advocare. We figured it out along the way. But it was one negotiation that saved my life. When you and I negotiated deals with Nike and Reebok, it changed everything for your sport but it also changed my life.You had the opportunity to choose between a ten year deal with Reebok and a three year deal with Nike. Both were worth millions to your family:
In that 60 days between our eviction notice and the day that I moved the family into their first home, I closed those two deals with Nike and Reebok, one for $5 million and the other for $10 million. What you didn’t know at the time was that, while I was trying to find that right house under our budget, I received a call from an executive at the company with the greatest vested interest in your decision. The day before you were to choose between three years with Nike or ten years with Reebok, the call from an HQ executive to my phone was short and sweet:
“Make the wrong choice and your life could be difficult.”
You chose the deal that you wanted and to my benefit, it was also the deal that HQ wanted. I experienced enough cutthroat behavior over those months to know that sports marketing wasn’t for me especially not while running a company and doing odd jobs to pay the bills. I stayed on for a little bit longer and then I sent you a letter of resignation. In doing so, I forfeited nine years of six figure earnings in the process.
Nothing mattered to me but that first check from my cut of your earnings. It bought the house for Lindsey, Alexis, and Adriana. And in those few weeks, through our work together, I protected people whose only sins were their love for me. My one regret is not letting you know in real time.
Our friendship was incredible. You welcomed me into your home countless times. Your dad, your wife, and your cousins each felt like family. You tried to teach me things that I sure wish that I learned in real time. I can honestly say that you were a better man than you were an athlete or businessman. Both were tall orders.
Congratulations on all of your successes, Rich. And thank you for helping me protect them.
My best,
Web