Gerard Armond Powell

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Gerard Armond Powell - also known as Jerry Powell – was born September 21, 1963 in Scranton, Pennsylvania

Jerry Powell offers an unlikely, and for that reason, all the more compelling success story. Jerry was expelled from Pocono Central Catholic School midyear in the 10th grade. He then went to Pocono Mountain High School and dropped out during his senior year.

After leaving school, Jerry found work in the Pocono’s burgeoning vacation home market selling timeshares. In this endeavor he met with some success. Despite a lack of formal education, Jerry learned as much as he could about direct sales on his own and worked successfully in Atlantic City, Philadelphia and Harrisburg.

During his tenure in the timeshare industry, Jerry started two small businesses. The first was a satellite dish company that failed, and the second, in 1987, was a Philadelphia-based telemarketing company which he successfully sold in order to take a position at the Capri Waters Club in Melbourne, Australia. After spending just over two years at Capri Waters his workers’ visa expired and Jerry returned to the United States in 1990.

In 1991, Jerry founded Y-rent, a building and development company which became well known for its ubiquitous advertising and novel approach to helping renters become home owners. Though the company was successful, the relationship between Jerry and the other founder was not. Jerry left the company in 1996, and ultimately was bought out by his partner, who continued to operate the business, in 1998 for more than $1 million in cash. In 2001, six years after Jerry left Y-rent, it was sued by the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office and was the subject of a number of civil suits. Ultimately the Y-rent program was discontinued.

In 1995 Jerry started thatlook.com, the first company ever organized to provide mass-market access to cosmetic surgery procedures. In 1999, Jerry took thatlook.com public, and the company achieved a market value of approximately $150 million. The bursting of the technology bubble in 2000 undermined the company’s ability to raise capital, which ultimately diminished it’s potential. The shareholders of thatlook.com pressured the board of directors to replace Jerry as the chief executive officer of the company. Ultimately, the board of directors complied and fired Jerry, as well as his management team in August 2001. The board of directors and the new chief executive tried various other business models and businesses, but by 2004 the company once known as thatlook.com was bankrupt.

Because Jerry was not fired “for cause” from thatlook.com, he was entitled to his full salary for the more than one year remaining on his employment contract. Jerry negotiated to waive his salary in exchange for being able to compete immediately in the cosmetic surgery marketing business.

The board of directors of thatlook.com agreed and Jerry, as well as his prior management team, immediately founded looksforless.com to operate in the same business, but with a substantially different business model. With looksforless.com, Jerry and the team had developed and executed on the right formula for the cosmetic surgery marketing business.

The early and rapid success of looksforless.com enabled Jerry and his team to retain 100% of the stock of the company without ever diluting their interests to outside investors. In 2005 Jerry sold the company to a larger public company for $89 million in cash and other employment incentives worth up to $5 million. The transaction was negotiated and consummated by Jerry without the use of an investment banker. At the closing, Jerry sold his 78% ownership stake in the company.

Jerry has recently started the Rythmia group of companies whose holdings include, Rythmia Practice Solutions, Rythmia Domain Company, Rythmia Transportation Company, and Powell Properties TC which is one of the owners of Seven Stars, a luxury resort located on the island of Providenciales, Turks and Caicos, a British Crown colony. Rythmia Domain Company has recently invested in FilmEngine Productions of West Hollywood, CA and Rythmia Practice Solutions, LLC which obtained financial backing from Prescott Associates. Prescott Associates, founded in 1973, is the largest entity within a $750 million partnership and Rythmia Practice Solutions, LLC is the 1st private company in which it has invested.

Also, Rythmia Domain Company now owns part of Sir Richard's Condom Company which is a unique condom manufacturer dedicated to promoting safe sex around the world, working with their global partners, they donate one condom to a country in need for every condom purchased.

Jerry also serves on the Board of Directors of a nonprofit organization organized to help the less fortunate to acquire a college education named the Maecenas Fund.

Quotes

Referring to the Business model surrounding Mr. Powell's previous endeavors:

“ Entrepreneur Gerard Powell attributes his success to a simple strategy: Take a product or service that is sold only to the wealthy and make it affordable to the masses. ”

—David Evanson, Entrepreneur.com

Referring to Gerard Powells earlier company, thatlook.com:

“ Perhaps the most aggressive site is thatlook.com (www.thatlook.com), based in Stroudsburg, Pa. Web site viewers are hit with this offer: "Cosmetic surgery for no money down and payments as low as $38 a week." On either side of that pitch are two perfect models, male and female, whose images suggest recent visits to some rather skilled surgeons. ”

—Dan Morse, Staff Writer, Wall Street Journal

Resources

  • Fosse, Lynn (May 2001). "Gerard A. Powell President and Chief Executive Officer, Thatlook.com - Interview". Wall Street Corporate Reporter. pp. 10–11 
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