StartEngine's poster child is in hot water

Kevin O’Leary, a businessman and ‘shark’ on hit TV show Shark Tank, is also a paid spokesperson for StartEngine

And O’Leary, who goes by Mr. Wonderful, is everywhere - StartEngine touts him on their homepage, in their own raise, and on TV commercials

In the past 72 hours, one of the largest crypto exchanges (named FTX) went from a $32B valuation → $0

It’s a massive financial disaster that will surely have a sick movie made about it

But how does this involve Mr Wonderful?

Kevin O’Leary was a paid spokesperson for FTX, and touted the exchange frequently. On Twitter, a past clip of O’Leary calling FTX the safest place in crypto is going viral:

Oof, that aged as well as the alfredo pasta that’s been in my fridge for 4+ weeks.

But here at Crowdscale, we don’t make judgements off of clips. We searched for the whole interview, to see if this viral clip was taken out of context. And it was a little misleading:

In the extended clip, Mr Wonderful clearly states that he is both a paid spokesperson + shareholder in FTX (+5 points for Gryffindor)

It also becomes clear that while he believes FTX is safe, his comment is part of a joke around the fact that the founder’s parents are both compliance lawyers.

Don’t get me wrong, Mr Wonderful got in bed with the wrong partner. But he did not pretend to have no financial involvement with FTX when promoting them

Let’s review the takeaways here:

1. Do not listen to paid spokespeople. They are getting paid to say the things they are saying. They could turn out to be right, but ultimately…

2. Do your own due diligence. Always.

3. Specifically with equity crowdfunding, look at a company’s Form C. This includes audited financials and a clear look ‘under the hood’

4. StartEngine is currently raising funds and using Mr O’Leary as a paid spokesperson. Do not invest solely because you like Mr Wonderful. (see #2) Ironically, the author of this article is an investor in StartEngine.