Solavei has its fair share of critics, but it turns out the company also has some well-known celebrities in its corner. The Bellevue wireless carrier brought in actor Stephen Baldwin and musician Cee Lo Green for recent launch party at the Experience Music Project in Seattle.
Solavei has drawn criticism for a controversial multi-level marketing model that rewards users for signing up their friends, family and co-workers for the cell phone service. Recruiting three new customers, dubbed a “Trio,” earns users $20 per month. Three trios, or nine new customer additions, equates to $49 (or the cost of one month of service).
The company is led by former Motricity CEO Ryan Wuerch and former Congressman Rick White, with backing from the likes of Jonathan Miller, the chief digital officer at News Corp.; David Limp, vice president of Kindle at Amazon.com; and Gary Adams, an oil and gas executive from Oklahoma.
Here’s Baldwin talking about the service in a promotional video dubbed “I Am Solavei,” saying that the company’s goal is to touch as many people as possible and help them “get blessed from it as much as they possibly can.” He calls the service the “real deal” and notes that it is “going viral really quickly.”
Here’s an interview with Baldwin at the launch event. He explains how he got involved in the service after he “got a random email” from a friend who is a pastor in New York, telling him about a new social commerce company with the potential “to be a blessing to millions and millions of Americans” and solve their economic struggles.
No word on whether Baldwin is being paid for the endorsement or his involvement, apart from the return he gets for signing up other users.
And here’s Cee Lo Green’s performance, captured by an attendee.
