LuLaRoe co-founder Mark Stidham dead at 68
LuLaRoe co-founder Mark Stidham passed away on September 25th at the age of sixty-eight.
Stidham is believed to have died of complications related to pancreatic cancer.
BehindMLM wouldn’t typically note the passing of an MLM co-founder but with LuLaRoe being embroiled in recent public controversy, Stidham warrants an exception.
I learned of Stidham’s passing through a check of ongoing pyramid scheme proceedings initiated by Jessica Ponkey.
As of September 2024 the case had been dismissed twice. As I understand the second dismissal is under appeal.
On September 29th a case docket entry, noting a Ninth Circuit order, confirmed
receipt of the Suggestion of Death, filed September 26, 2025. Counsel for Defendants-Appellees is directed to inform the court within ten days from the date of this order whether a party will be substituted for the decedent.
On October 6th counsel for Deanna Brady (Stidham’s wife, left with Stidham) and LuLaRoe, informed the court
the LLR Parties do not intend to file any motion to substitute a party in place of the decedent, Mark A. Stidham.
This suggests Deanna will continue to defend the case on LuLaRoe’s behalf. It also suggests Deanna will continue to operate LuLaRoe solo.
Mark Stidham was LuLaRoe’s CEO, having launched the company with Deanne in 2013.
To confirm where Deanne is in LuLaRoe’s executive structure, I went looking for an official statement but couldn’t find one. Not even an acknowledgement of Stidham’s passing, which was odd.
Ponkey’s lawsuit was one of two pyramid scheme class-actions filed against LuLaRoe. Settlements were reached with all plaintiffs in the first lawsuit by July 2021.
Other recent LuLaRoe controversies include:
- a $95,950 civil penalty related to violations of Pennsylvania Consumer Protection Law in 2020;
- a $4.75 million settlement in 2021 over “unlawful pyramid scheme” charges brought by the Washington State AG in 2019; and
- LuLaRich, a 2021 Amazon Prime series that explored LuLaRoe’s descent from a “fast-growing retail phenomenon to alleged viral multi-level marketing scam”
Also of note is LuLaRoe owing one of its suppliers, Providence Industries (dba MyDyer), $49 million as of late 2018.
In response to MyDyer’s concern over LuLaRoe’s mounting debt, Stidham purportedly told a company representative;
Look guys, I am not going to pay you guys a fucking dime unless a judge orders me to pay it, and DeAnne and I will take our two to three hundred million dollars to the Bahamas, and fuck everything.
A judge ordered Stidham to pay $164 million in damages to Providence Industries in November 2024.
Despite its various controversies and challenges (LuLaRoe took a big hit following customer reports of deteriorating product quality in the late 2010s), the MLM company persisted with a dedicated following.
SimilarWeb was tracking ~50,000 monthly visits to LuLaRoe’s website as of September 2024.
As per a 2024 Income Disclosure Statement, 90.37% of LuLaRoe promoters did not qualify to earn MLM commissions in 2024.
72% of LuLaRoe promoters earned less than $5000 annually. 19.65% of promoters lost money through LuLaRoe’s compensation plan.
Before anyone gets their leggings in a twist, this isn’t supposed to be an obituary.
BehindMLM researches and reports on the MLM industry. This is who Mark Stidham was within the MLM industry.
Stidham could have been any number of things outside of the MLM industry. That’s beyond the scope of BehindMLM’s research and reporting.