Thursday, August 8, 2013

ZoiVi/NuViza is a possible Pyramid Scheme

(Note: Some of the informations presented in this blog is more or less outdated, to see updated information, click on the tab "ZoiVi News". Also, starting from April 2014, "Whistleblower" is no longer the person who originally created this blog, all the comments after that time was made by a completely new owner. Since 9/28/2014, Zoivi changed their name to "NuViza", everything you read here applies as usual.)

If you're reading this, it's probably because someone is trying to recruit you into the company. And if that's the case, then you're doing the right thing by researching the company. Congrats on doing your homework to see what you're getting yourself into.

When I first found out about ZoiVi, I instantly looked it up on Google to find out whether or not it's a scam because after I heard that they took my friend out to eat on the first day just hours after the long "interview" and "training," it sounded very suspicious. However, when I typed "ZoiVi scam" in the search engines, I got a bunch of bogus dummy reviews, a couple of them being video reviews that don't even talk about the company. If you ran into any of these before reading this blog post, then I'm sure that they confused you and didn't really tell you what you want to know. Yes, these so-called "reviews" do say ZoiVi is good, but they don't actually really tell you anything about the company itself. It's just a bunch of garbage about how to market and build your business. It looks like they put a lot of SEO (search engine optimization) work behind their name to draw in skeptics such as myself who know that if something sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. Any company that has to flood Google with so much nonsense has something to hide.

Anyway, let me give you a little bit of background information. ZoiVi International (sometimes nicknamed Zvi or ZV International, but usually just called ZoiVi) was founded by a man by the name of Ahmad Evaji. It started in Graham, North Carolina but is now based mainly in New York City and is focusing its expansion there. They used to have an office located in 220 West 30th Street, Manhattan 10001 but they don't own that space anymore; they now do their interviews in other places, like the Starbucks in 34th St. It's hard to find information about Evaji, but what I do know is that he:
  • has been in the United States for 10 years (as of 2013) and is 31 years old
  • "owns" a small mansion in Bayside, Queens
  • used to be a rep for YOR Health and USANA, both of which are well-known pyramid schemes. In fact, YOR Health had an $11 million lawsuit against it for operating a pyramid scheme. He held a high position in both of these companies and brought some of his downline from these companies into his current one. Saul Tepizila (a pretentious jerk) is one example.
At this point, you can probably already tell that I don't like this company. Yes, it is a pyramid scheme. It looks like Evaji learned in his previous MLM companies that the only way for him to make any real money with this business model is by creating his own MLM company, so he can be at the top level of the pyramid with nobody else to feed above him. Those at the top of the pyramid structure make the most money since they make their big bucks off the efforts of those below them, not to mention that distributors must buy the products and then sell it to someone else for a profit. Yes, Evaji is in control of a pyramid scheme and this company, while technically legal, is actually a quasi-legal pyramid scheme and you will most likely NOT make any money from this. The majority of people in this company aren't making any money. In fact, over 99% of MLM participants actually lose more than they make, and ZoiVi is no exception. They'll try to make you think you can do it. but every MLM will tell you that to try and push you. This business model has been around for so long that they always have to attack at a new angle, and ZoiVi has done the same.

So what kind of products does ZoiVi actually work with? Well, they specialize in health and wellness and sell products meant to restore the body to its natural state. Their products are overpriced like in any other MLM since these companies have to make the money. But what they seem to hype the most is their detox product. Evaji talks about his products like they're some kind of miraculous potions but everyone knows that detoxes aren't even scientifically proven to work. Sure, you can go on their website (http://www.zoivi.com) and see before and after pitctures, and yeah, people do lose weight with this product, but you will experience this with any detox. Scientists have repeatedly tested detoxes and not once have they ever seen actual toxins removed from their body with such products. All of the weight lost is from water and other things cleared out of your intestines to make you think you're losing weight.. Your liver and colon perform the "detoxification" function just fine... They try to scare you into believing that you're a walking bag of toxins, but our bodies just don't work that way. If you really want to help your liver get rid of toxins, all you have to do is eat a healthful diet that consists of plenty of water and fiber. Got it? Good. A lot of these MLMs are scams but actually provide you with a good (yet very expensive) product, but ZoiVi doesn't even have that. Don't listen to their nonsense about how you can see the toxins, how it helped them get over their asthma, etc. It this detox really did work, Evaji would be the first person in history to prove that detoxes can eliminate toxins. But instead, he makes up stories about how his products saved his mother's life!
(UPDATE: ZoiVi's new websites are http://10goenergy.com/ and http://www.zvicorp.com/)

At the end of the day, who are you going to listen to: doctors with medical degrees? Or people who have never stepped a foot in college, without any type of degree? You'd at least expect the top reps to have degrees in nutrition if not medical degrees. Think of it this way: the former has nothing to gain by saying that detox products are scams, while the latter is interested in your pocket. Doesn't take a critical thinker to figure that one out! Apparently MLM is leading the way in research and development, and it's all led by a guy who has never stepped foot in a university. In fact, they teach you here that college is a scam, that working a 9 to 5 job is for slaves and that you should be your own boss by "owning your own business with them." Talk about hating on the establishment.

Read more about detoxes here if you're interested: http://www.theiflife.com/detox-diets-supplements-hype/

There's no real reason to buy products from this company, but the products is not where the scam is at. The products are simply there to keep the company legal. Why? Because they are meant to hide the pyramid structure. For those of you who don't know how MLM works, basically what is going to happen if you join is you're going to pay for the products you sell. Then, you will have to bug your friends and family into buying your crap products. This creates awkward pressure when you're in the home of friends and family you haven't seen in a while, trying to make a buck off of them. It's hard to say no. It's hard for them to make the decision not to support you. You'll find people buying your $143 detox (yes, that's the actual price) because they want to support you, but that's pretty much all they're doing because they're not getting anything out of the product. When you sell something, the person who recruited you gets a cut. Yes, the uninvolved guy who got you into this mess gets a cut of every sale you will ever make. Then the person who recruited that guy gets a cut as well, and so on, until the last of it goes to Evaji, the guy who just sits back as he watches his drones do all of his hard work for him. That's why he's "retired;" he doesn't have to do anything. His slaves do his hard work for him! This company is not about selling product, it's about getting more people to join. They will make you start recruiting people on your very first day, after the interview. When you understand this concept, then you start to understand why the person who recruited you was so eager to get you to join. You start to understand why this company didn't ask you for a résumé. You start to understand why these guys literally SOLD you the job. It's because they have something to get out of you since it's all about paying to get your job in reality. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is where the scam is at: it's a recruitment scheme.

If you have an appointment for an interview with these guys, you were probably told that you were gonna get squeezed in to see someone important, that you had to dress sharp, not to make them look bad, etc. (At the end of this post, I'll provide the cold calling script they use, along with some other stuff, for anyone who is interested.) I recommend you do not even show up. If you want to go and get their side of the story, then that's fine, do as you please. But let me warn you, it's not a typical interview... It lasts about 3 hours and they take you out to eat after, but I've heard people say they were there for as long as 5 hours. It probably depends on who interviews you. But let me tell you how the interview is going to go... First, they'll ask about you and what you do. What you do for a living, what you're studying in school, all of that good stuff. Then they will deviate into what they do and give you some rehearsed sob story about how they had no money until they joined ZoiVi. They'll try to inspire you because they can relate to you. They know you're probably someone who is desperate for a job and they know what it's like to job hunt. They'll show you some PowerPoint-like presentation as well, trying to show you how much of a money-maker this is, how you can own your own business with Zoivi (which just isn't true, you don't own a business through ZoiVi, you just sell their products. It's just a dealership), how Donald Trump endorses the MLM industry (also garbage, there is no evidence of that), and other lies and exaggerations in order to try to sell you the job. You know how interviews are typically 15 or 20 minutes of you trying to impress the guy interviewing you? Forget about that. At ZoiVi, it's hours of them telling you why you should pay them to work. At the end of the interview, suddenly they'll tell you "Here. Pay me $390, $780, or $1,170 for a package. The more you pay, the more you make!" Well, they will be more subtle than that, but that's basically what it is. If this is something you think you can bear, then go ahead and at least give it a chance. You don't have to listen to me. But if you're gullible and easy to persuade, these guys are really good con men and will probably find a way to make you pay money you don't want to pay. They have crazy talking skills. Oh, and there are no refunds either, so good luck selling at least $390 worth of stuff to your friends.

"Business cult" probably gives the most accurate description of this company. It's a cult, plain and simple. It's so bad that the most brainwashed people put "Zvi" or ZoiVi" at the end of their names on Facebook. Try to find any of their profiles on Facebook. You'll find that they live and breathe ZoiVi. It's all they ever talk about, all their statuses are vaguely about opportunity and success and fulfilling your dreams and avoiding negative people and all of this other optimistic mumbo jumbo from people who are most likely losing more money than they make. They have conferences all the time, where Evaji does a presentation to motivate you, trying to make you forget that part of your brain where your common sense is and replacing it with meaningless hope to make you not even think twice about quitting before you lose more of your hard-earned money. Because Evaji teaches you that if you're positive, you will make it. They worship this man like a god, all because he has money. He's got everybody brainwashed. Evaji literally has not done anything to make this world a better place. These people are just so obsessed with becoming rich that they are willing to trust this strange man who asks them to pay to work... As if you're going to make a good living selling products that make you shit. The only real way to make money here is to get a lot of people recruited below you. It's all about exploiting people, to make money off of others who will most certainly lose money. It's a long chain of exploitation. Think of all the friends you'll lose. Think of how materialistic you're going to look. Think of that guy that was your best friend until you tried to make him your moneymaker. Do you really want to be known as the person who has something to gain from people other than their friendship? It might sound crazy, but this is really what's going on in this company. The top reps show off so much luxury to try and convince you that you can be like them some day. But personally, I don't like dirty money. If I ever get wealthy, I want to achieve it in such a way that feels fulfilling. I want to make a difference, and not at the expense of others. The people here call the company their family, and the top reps only interact with each other as they are the only ones who are in on the scam. This company is a conspiracy, and only a select few know what's going on.

These guys literally spend all 7 days of the week together; they're either having fun and taking a million pictures of it to entice others to join or at the office calling people and setting up appointments. They talk about how they'll "take over" one day, but tell me, when was the last time you saw an MLM really explode? You never have because they never do. Amway, the biggest, most successful MLM in the world, is not exactly taking over. It's funny how  the most successful MLM has become one of the most well-known active scams in the world today. The top reps in ZoiVi even post pictures of their checks to make things seem legit. They try to reel people in with materialism. Tell me... Who is that eager to make others rich? Why do they need to go through so much to convince others that this thing is legit? And if this is such a great way to make a lot of money, why isn't everyone doing it instead of applying to ordinary retail jobs, and why are so few of the representatives actually making money? None of these questions have a real answer. They want you to join because (and this is the key thing you need to understand) they need you more than you need them. You are their source of income.

Most of the people here are young college kids with no business experience, so the "leaders" tend to hang around college campuses trying to con students that are having a hard time getting a job. The majority of people in this company are Asians. Nobody in this company really knows what's going on, though. They get titles such as bronze, silver, gold, leader, expansion director, and a bunch of other stuff like that but to achieve these ranks you basically have to buy a lot of products, so you're pretty much paying for your rank and working harder for no extra money for a meaningless rank designed to make you think you're getting somewhere. Nobody knows where the money comes from for the all-expense paid trips or the mansion. What they don't know is that they're the ones paying for all this stuff... And they wonder how this guy got rich.

That's about all I have to say for now. I hope people read this and see the company for what it really is. It's not as big as Amway or Nu Skin or Herbalife, so nobody has really made a post like this, although I know former reps that quit once they figured out they were being manipulated in all sorts of ways. Take this post however you like, but always remember not to trust people like this - people who have a vested interest in your wallet. And keep in mind that I have nothing to gain from this post. I'm just hoping that I can save someone from losing anything to this poor excuse for a company, whether it be their money or well-being or someone they care about. I almost lost someone I love to these control freaks.

ZoiVi's primary goal is not to bring health and wellness to the world; it's to sell the hopeless business opportunity to people desperate enough to turn to this means to make money.
MLM is mathematically unsustainable and the only way to really succeed is off the failures of others below you. It never works, no matter how they word around it. Learn more about the MLM industry at http://mlm-thetruth.com.

If you have any questions, want to just talk, or want to send me an angry e-mail defending the very organization that is robbing you or anything else at all, you're more than welcome to e-mail me: banban2153@aol.com or leave a comment below.

And remember that there is no such thing as easy money.

Below are some of their documents, like the cold calling script, the compensation plan, etc. Take a look through these if you want. Also included below is Ahmad Evaji's public record file. Note how his name is not on any of his mansions. They were probably rented or leased, even though he says otherwise. And look at how many homes he has lived in over the years. If you do a reverse look-up on these addresses, you'll find that he was staying in the homes of his representatives.
(Again, some of these might be outdated.)

Ahmad Evaji's public record file: http://bit.ly/11PIpN3
Flipchart: http://bit.ly/196CTHW (they show you this the day of the interview)
Basic Inviting: http://bit.ly/16DFJno
Customer Demo: http://bit.ly/13RUGhI
Customer Demo (Updated): http://bit.ly/1cpRrrp
Dial 4 Dollars: http://bit.ly/13RUL4R
FSTPack: http://bit.ly/17AS5tE
The Self Invite: http://bit.ly/16DGih9
ZoiVi Compensation Plan: http://bit.ly/196QLC7