Speak Asia lose the plot: Bollywood meets MLM?!
Back in late May, Speak Asia had their bank accounts frozen and since then, they’ve been unable to pay their members for recruiting others to Speak Asia doing surveys.
As we near almost two months without Speak Asia having paid a single member and with no end in sight to the regulatory problems plaguing the company, one can’t help but question the mindset of those who are still with it.
Those who, despite the obvious recruitment driven pyramid scheme nature of Speak Asia’s compensation plan, refuse to believe the company has done anything wrong, or is deserving of the regulatory and media attention that has been directed its way.
I could label them idiots, simpletons, crooks themselves or the uneducated – but thanks to Speak Asia themselves, I don’t have to.
Speak Asia themselves continue to prove that they believe the majority of their memberbase are complete morons.
Following the press release Speak Asia put out last week, which blatantly attempted to push the ‘us vs. them’ mob mentality without addressing any of the concerns about the company’s business model, Speak Asia have now released a promotional video titled attempting to further clarify their position.
Foreword: The following is an actual video put out by Speak Asia in a professional capacity.
I wish I was but I’m not making this up. It’s meant to be taken seriously and is depicted as an accurate representation of current events facing the company. /end foreword
Hilariously, the eleven minute long Speak Asia video titled ‘The Torchbearer’, opens by ripping off the Star Wars musical theme.
And it’s not the first time they’ve done it either. From there they compare Speak Asia to the steam engine, air flight, space exploration and then the evolution of technology itself.
Note that the entire video is in Hindi but the idea and concepts that Speak Asia are pushing in the video are relatively easy enough to ascertain.
After comparing themselves and their pyramid scheme business model to some of the greatest technological advancements in the twentieth century, Speak Asia then launch into a hilarious Bollywood style diatribe.
Here’s Speak Asia’s representation of themselves, climbing the pole of success no less;
Establishing themselves as innovators, Speak Asia then compare business success to that of a Snakes & Ladders board game;
In the video, upon reaching square 96, Speak Asia hit a ‘snake’;
The snake is obviously designed to represent Speak Asia’s critics, the Indian government and regulatory authorities currently investigating the company.
Here’s how Speak Asia currently see themselves in the face of investigations into their business model;
And this would be how they see the government, regulators and their critics…
Hilarious? You betcha.
The video then goes on to show the evil looking ‘negatives’ attack and try to kill our little Speak Asian hero.
Only, unlike in reality where a company is held accountable for its business practices, in Speak Asia’s video our hero is victorious and everyone can get on with making money off recruiting others.
As if the Bollywood style montage wasn’t embarrassing enough, in the Torchbearer video Speak Asia also compare themselves to Rediff, Yahoo, Alavista (sic), eBay, Geocities (now defunct), Hotmail and other recognisable dotcom businesses.
They also compare themselves to John Norton (Norton Antivirus), Steve Jobs (Apple) and Bill Gates (Microsoft).
After watching the video in its entirey I’ve only got one thing to say;
Are Speak Asia’s members complete idiots? How anyone could believe such an oversimplified dramatised production is beyond me. Remember this isn’t a children’s entertainment show or religious production, it’s supposed to be an explanation of the current events surrounding a company facing regulatory investigation.
If Speak Asia’s Torchbearer video was supposed to be anything but a serious business presentation (touted with a straight face no less), then I’d be all for applauding the company for injecting a bit of creativity into it’s affairs.
But at the end of the day, cmon guys… You’re not fooling anyone with your pretty colors and demonic representations of regulators or your critics.
There’s a very serious recruitment driven problem with Speak Asia’s business model and, despite what they want you to think, it is the only reason they are currently in the mess they’re in.
Cult indoctrination at work, Oz. It’s brainwashing presented in TechniColor
All of them are present in this video. Can you spot them?
These scams are operating as a cult for sure. Just the other day, I found a TVI Express member who posted an insult on my blog under a pseudonym. I found his real name because he posted the exact same insult on his own Facebok page. So I called him out. His reply?
“kschang is guilty! (of insulting TVI Express)”.
What other evidence do you need that he’s been brainwashed into a cult? This is exact illustration of “Aura of Sacred Silence”.
http://kschang.blogspot.com/2011/07/war-against-potty-mouth-roasa-continues.html
SpeakAsia is doing the same thing.
Another thing about this video… If they can spend money on this production, but not paying their “members”, what does that say about their operational ethics?
I’m getting quite a few cultish like comments on the Speak Asia articles at the moment.
Lots of ‘rah rah rah Speak Asia will conquer the world rah rah rah you don’t know anything you’ll see’ type stuff. Unfortunately they’re all just blatant recruitment plugs as they all include mobile numbers, pagers and email addresses asking people to contact them if they want to join.
Meanwhile the fact of the matter is you’d be joining a company that hasn’t been able to pay out anyone since late May.
Go ahead and post them, but edit out the contact info. This would basically prove they’re in a cult.
A lot of it has phonetic Hindi intermixed with broken English. Google translate doesn’t recognise phonetic Hindhi so I’m a bit weary of publishing what I can’t understand myself.
For now it’s going straight into the spam bin.
Edit out the Hindi parts then. 🙂
o MY GOD! YOU ENGLISH VINGLISH PEOPLE.HOW INTELLIGENT HOW BRILLIANT YOU GUYS ARE .I SEE YOU HAVE ONE CONSTANT CHUM PAL PAID CHAMCHA?
YOU GUYS ARE JUST SCARED THAT AN IDEA CAN UNITE A WHOLE LOT OF PEOPLE .OF COURSE ITS MLM IS THEIR A FASTER WAY TO BUILD SUCH A HUGE PLATFORM/BUT CANT YOU IDIOTS SEE THAT THE COMPANY IS NOW SHIFTING TO A PRODUCT BASED MODEL.STARTING WITH HOME ELECTRONICS IT WANTS TO FURTHER DIVERSIFY INTO SELLING INSURANCE PRODUCTS ,TRAVEL PACKAGES AND EVEN VEHICLES BECAUSE IT WILL BE ABLE TO NEGOTIATE HUGE DISCOUNTS FOR ITS HUGE CUSTOMER BASE [CLAN TO YOU]
OF COURSE THE MLM SIDE OF THE BUSINESS WILL GENTLY PETER OUT AND GRADUALLY PANELISTS WILL HAVE TO RELY ON SELLING PRODUCTS TO EARN AN INCOME RATHER THAN RECRUITING PEOPLE .
THEY ARE NOT STOOPID THEY KNOW THIS.WHO HAS HAD SUCH A GRAND IDEA BEFORE ? HEY WE ARE NOT MORONS WE CAN SEE THE COMPANY IS NOT PAYING US BUT THATS BECAUSE YOUR CHUMMIES ARE NOT LETTING THEM GET REGISTERED AND NOT ALLOWING THEM TO OPERATE THEIR ACCOUNTS.
MAYBE THEY MOVED THE MONEY OUT BECAUSE TO PRISE IT FREE FROM THE CLUTCHES OF THE GOVT COULD HAVE TAKEN YEARS.DOES THE THOUGHT OF A LARGE GROUP OF DESI PEOPLE BECOMING A MAJOR MARKET SCARE YOU.DO YOUR HANDS QUIVER AT THE THOUGHT WHEN YOU DRINK HIGH TEA WITH CUPCAKES AND RUMINATE ABOUT THE PITIFUL STATE OF THE STOOPID VERNACULAR DESI?
SAVE US O LORD AND KING MR SOAP BOX OR WHATEVER
HA HA HA !I HAVE TO AGREE THE AD IS AWESOME IN ITS LACK OF CREATIVITY.BUT IT ISN’T ABOUT OUR EVOLVED TASTES. IF YOU WANT TO HAVE A REALLY GOOD LAUGH YOU SHOULD WATCH SOME OF OUR HUGELY POPULAR SAAS BAHU SITCOMS,OR INSTEAD JUST WATCH RAJNIKANT “MIND IT’IN ROBOT [HUGE BLOCKBUSTER THAT] THERE’S REALLY NO ACCOUNTING FOR PEOPLES TASTES OR WHERE THEY WISH TO PUT THEIR MONEY OR WHAT THEY CHOOSE TO BELIEVE IN.
LOOK AT IT THIS WAY IF SO MANY PEOPLE REALLY BELIEVE SPEAKASIA IS OFFERING THEM SOMETHING GOOD THEN WHAT IS PINCHING YOU. YOU GUYS ARE OUT TO LYNCH THE COMPANY AND HAVE THE GUMPTION TO CALL SPEAKASIANS CULTISH BECAUSE THEY ARE TRYING TO STAND TOGETHER AND FIGHT OFF A WITCHHUNT WHICH HAS BEEN LAUNCHED AGAINST THIS COMPANY BY STAR NEWS[THEY STARTED IT].
IF YOU ARE AWARE OF RUPERT MURDOCHS BUSINESS ETHICS IT WONT SURPRISE YOU THAT THE CHANNEL WHICH HAS A SAD UNSUCCESSFUL SISTER CONCERN/SUBSIDIARY CALLED STAR PANEL CAN GO TO ANY LENGTHS INCLUDING PAYING KIRIT SOMAIYA A NICE PACKAGE TO SET OUT ON A ONE MAN MISSION AGAINST SPEAKASIA.HE HIMSELF SAYS HE HAS NOTHING ELSE OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS.
HELLO CHILDREN ,ITS OUR MONEY AND OUR IDEA SO CAN YOU LEAVE OUR GROUND AND LET US PLAY.IF WE LOSE DON’T CRY FOR US ,SIMPLE.BUT DON’T USE YOUR POLITICAL CLOUT TO UNFAIRLY SNATCH OUR GAME AWAY FROM US.
thank you , anj ! your views about speak asia,. people who sent wrong comment about the the company ; are may be paid by some one , who backing them and some competiter co. whose bussiness was going to ruin.
such type of idiots does not know the facts about speak asia. i appreciate you for your right comments. thanks a lot.!
@anj and @rks — you guys sounds so… devout. If they catch Haren (head) and CEO will you conduct hunger strike and set yourselves on fire in protest?
Blaming everything on competitors… that’s called a conspiracy theory. If you have no evidence, then you are considered crazy.
None of anj’s comment deal with any relevant facts. The passage can be summarized as “I want to risk my money so you should let me.” That’s like saying “I enjoy getting robbed so government should let robbers rob me.” Unfortunately, you seem to be in the minority.
Thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, have complained about SpeakAsia. Even police have FIR filed. You simply choose not to see them. You seem to think that even in CRIME, majority rules.
What you are fighting for is a dream… except your leader had already took 100+ million USD to Singapore.
@anj
You want to unite, so unite – why does it have to be behind a blatant pyramid scheme business model though? That’s where you’re always going to be shut down.
MLM should not be about recruitment to serve an unrelated end goal. Whether your end goal is making tons of money or creating a large number of people to collectively bargain with, a recruitment driven business model with financial commissions is called a pyramid scheme and is illegal.
Then why are the recruitment commissions still providing the bulk of member’s earnings?
Products are not a business model for Speak Asia’s members, it’s a business model for the company. How much money are you making off buying goods from the Yug store? Oh that’s right, nothing.
This does not change the fact that Speak Asia engaged in an illegal business model and must be held accountable. Your crimes are not just absolved because you promise to change your business model… eventually.
And what kind of idiot government is going to allow a company currently trading on an illegal pyramid scheme business model to legally register themselves?
Yes, and then what. They can’t pay anyone back over in India – what good does that do their members? And why would it take years to get any money back from the government. If miraculously Speak Asia are cleared then why would the government not remove freezes on their accounts?
No (lol at the Desi reference). .
What scares me is 2 million people participating openly in a pyramid scheme and defending the business model blindly like a collective cult. These are people who can’t afford to lose money and people like you who stand up for nonsensical business models are just compounding the problem.
What are you talking about? There’s full accountability if what they’re putting their money into or believing in is financially illegal. Pyramid schemes are illegal for good reason.
Because the bigger it gets the more devastating it will be for the Indian economy when the recruitment driven business model inevitably fails.
That and companies like Speak Asia trash the reputation of the MLM industry on an epic scale.
Calling a company out on an illegal business model is far from a witchunt. Those standing together and claiming otherwise should be ashamed of themselves.
Irrelevant and nothing to do with Speak Asia’s business model.
In utilising a pyramid scheme your idea is illegal. Why should people stand by idly just so that you can continue to recruit people to your little scam and then require them to do the same just to break even?
This is financial cancerous self perpetuating nonsense which needs to be stopped.
@RKS
Nothing published about Speak Asia’s pyramid scheme business model is wrong. Your pathetic attempts to discredit criticism by claiming we’re all working for competitors (there’s a competitive market for pyramid schemes?) is laughable.
If somebody can prove Speak Asia’s business model isn’t recruitment driven I’m all ears. Till then, quit living in denial.
You are appealing to emotion, which is completely irrelevant to whether SpeakAsia is legal or not.
You can’t even prove that SpeakAsia is MLM. MLM sells things.
So what exactly are you saying? That SpeakAsia’s current model is indeed illegal but they’re trying to go legal with this new model that MAY (or may not) appear in the near future?
So it does NOT bother you that they have signed you up under a false front? By saying one thing first, then after 2 million people signed, they suddenly say SpeakAsia is really in some OTHER business?
Is that like finding out your wife is actually in love with your best friend, but married you instead, but you still love her no matter what?
They say “love is blind”. Are you loving SpeakAsia so much that you are indeed blind?
So you are indeed admitting that SpeakAsia is operating illegally now, but may go legal in the future, is that right?
Clearly, you did not study history much. DMG Group in Colombia sold “prepaid cards” that promised exorbitant returns as well… If you recruit people who also bought the cards. Go ahead, look it up. The guy had mansions in multiple countries, yachts, planes, cars… and was arrested and will be spending 39 years in jail.
Pyramid schemes have never been legal in India. You can’t even prove that SpeakAsia is not a pyramid scheme, much less why it deserves a license to operate. Add that to your virtual admission that SpeakAsia is operating illegally, is enough to guarantee it will NEVER get a proper license to operate.
Your speculation does not change the fact that the money left India. Frozen assets can be seized and returned to creditors (namely the “panelists”) through court judgments. Money that left the country cannot.
Not if they are all behaving like you… as sheep easily lead.
dear mr chang ,
1]if we sound devout you sound cynical[bad life experiences perhaps]
2]hunger strikes by gandhi forced the british out.dont disparage it.it’s a powerful tool of nonviolent agitation when people have no recourse for redressal.
3]nobody stops me from losing money on the stock market .I do not understand how this[speakasia] is robbery and that is not institutional robbery. I should have the right to take a calculated risk on either, without having you wagging your preachy finger at me. I believe I stand to gain from speakasia ,who are to to chastise me?
4]who in the world are you getting your information from?[kirit somaiya?].the FIR is based on two [yes TWO] complaints by two INDIVIDUALS.Given that speakasia has two MILLION panelists it seems pretty unfair to hang a company on the basis of this
5]in another post you have mentioned that hoardings [yes, that’s what we call them in backward-ville]have been burnt down around the country.ONE hoarding was rather embarrasedly burnt by a small bunch of guys[BJP guys-kirit kronies]who looked rather surprised that star news was on the spot to record this STRONG VIOLENT protest against speakasia
6]in India your money is safe only if it is far away from the clutching clawing hands of govt agencies.
7]all over the country large groups of speakasians are sitting on protest dharnas.But as expected ,this goes completely unnoticed by the news channels.
8]does the timing not strike you as odd ?the moment the company unveiled it’s plans and product range in it’s hugely successful GEN_NEXT BAZAAR held in Goa ,where the biggest international brands [sony, microsoft etc ]participated,Kirit somaiya and star news decided the company should be shut down.
9] what the hell do you mean this has nothing to do with rupert murdochs business ethics?he bloody owns star news and star panel.
10]I don’t think you guys really have a hang about speakasia or what’s really going down here in India but great way to increase traffic to your site.congrats!
@anju
Please don’t compare what Ghandi did in resisting British occupation to supporting a pyramid scheme. The comparison is so ridiculous you only come off looking like a complete crackpot.
The stock market doesn’t require an ever increasing amount of people to ‘join’ in order for existing ‘members’ of the stock market to make money. Infact you can’t even join the stock market so again, enough with the ridiculous comparisons.
Joining Speak Asia is not a calculated risk. You know you have to sign people up to make any decent money, and then they too need to go out and do the same thing. This is nothing more than commissions being paid out of people’s joining fees, which is an illegal business concept.
The FIR was written up Indian police and then investigated. It is on the basis of this investigation that the EOW and CID are acting. You do kno what a First Information Report is don’t you?
So how safe is your invested money in Speak Asia. It’s far away from the ‘clutching and clawing hands of the government’. Do you honestly think you’re ever going to see it again?
Why are Kaur and Kumar in hiding overseas? They’ve got their millions – who gives a shit what happens in India now.
Most likely because it’s an embarassing situation. Here is a company who has cheated hundreds of thousands via it’s pyramid scheme and there are people protesting in the streets about the government cracking down on it.
The announcement was made after a few agencies initiated their own investigations into Speak Asia. It’s perfectly concievable that Kaur had a backup plan if shit ever hit the fan, and this portal seems to be it.
As for Sony and Microsoft, where are they now? And what on Earth is this Yug crap?
Star News, Star Panel and Rupert Murdoch have nothing to do with Speak Asia’s pyramid scheme business model. Local conspiracies aside, it’s the business model that is the focus of this website. Your continued reference and attempts to introduce your conspiracy theories into the discussion are irrelevant.
This website is about MLM. Speak Asia is apart of that MLM sphere. What’s ‘really going down’ in India isn’t some sort of big mystery.
Woman based in Singapore starts pyramid scheme in India, millions join and then government moves to shut it down. That’s all we’re looking at here, nothing more.
Trying to insult me, eh? Only proves your heart is weak and must resort to insulting your “opponent”.
I wasn’t referring to Ghandhi. I was referring to the bunch of crazies in Colombia who demanded the government to release DMG Group’s leader so his pyramid scheme can continue. That was in 2008.
And you sound just like them.
We ain’t talking about the stock market.
That’s because you’re IN IT, and you’ve been brainwashed by it. That’s exactly what you’d say if you believe in it so much you do not see its problems.
Explain this to me: if SpeakAsia does NOT need recruiting (as you claimed in another topic), where does it get its money from, since it cannot prove that ANY COMPANY had commissioned it for any surveys or request it for panelists?
speakasia has submitted a list of it’s clients to the bombay high court. It has openly and repeatedly told journalists that they can view the same if they sign a nondisclosure agreement.In India if you have political clout and money you can just about do anything. these are not some crazy conspiracy theories,show us some respect for heavens sake.
day in and out we see people and companies being bullied by press and politicians.IF THERE IS ANY REAL MAFIA IN India IT IS THE NEXUS BETWEEN POLITICIANS ANS PRESS.find out why Walmart couldn’t enter India .
Who is the famous corrupt politician who dint allow them standing space and find out whether its the same politician and his cronies who have now launched the retail idea that had been proposed by walmart.
a brilliant guy called Modi worked his ass off and made the IPL[cricket]come true.when the politicians saw there was big money involved the jumped into the fray ,most notably the same corrupt guy. they froze modi’s bank accounts chased hm out of India and how can he come back because they’ve filed so many cases against him he’ll be arrested the moment he lands at the airport. The same politicians now OWN IPL teams under different facades.
There are loud whispers that once speakasia is buried the same guys will be launching a similar campaign.We believe this because we see it over and over again.pyramid schemes are not illegal in India but this one has unluckily caught the eye of our greedy politicians.we have a greater chance of getting a fair deal from speakasia than our politicians.
My main question is if pyramid schemes are not illegal in India how and why without a law in their hands are the authorities clamping down on speakasia.And you guys seem to be in love with moneylife and treat every word they say as the final truth ,let me tell you in India NGO is a BAD word.They are quasi governmental corrupt organizations [90%]which launder money for corrupt politicians and are most often a facade for tax evasion and almost always have a nexus with some politicians.
everything is not what it appears to be my friends the truth is layered and difficult to find.This is why we feel speakasia is being victimised. It is not speakasia that has defrauded us but the government by freezing their accounts.
Telling REPORTERS to sign non-disclosure statements? Ha-ha-ha! Is that like telling politicians to sign “promise to be not corrupt”?
So you trust SpeakAsia more than your government, the police, the media, and so on? Care to explain why?
@anju
Why on Earth would they have to sign an NDA unless most of the companies on the list are companies owned by Harendar Kaur?
I mean seriously, the ‘waah we have to protect ourselves’ argument is a load of bollocks. Why is Speak Asia terrified of losing their client base, are they doing that bad a job? And don’t they think that if these companies they are allegedly conducting surveys for weren’t happy, they’d do their own research and jump ship anyway?
It’s not like we’re protecting some secret patented formula or intelectual property here, it’s a freaking client list!
Why all the secrecy, if not just to cover up bullshit contracts with bogus companies Kaur has set up to keep the recruitment game rolling?
All of those companies you mentioned create irrelevant comparisons because they aren’t pyramid schemes. Nor does comparing Speak Asia to anything change the fact that it itself is a pyramid scheme. That is the issue here.
They most certainly are. under India’s \Prize Chits and Money Circulation Scheme (Banning) Act of 1978.
Specifically;
The problem isn’t that pyramid schemes are legal in India, it’s that the policing of them and application of the Act is woefully outdated in today’s technology.
As for MoneyLife and Indian politicians, once again irrelevant as it doesn’t alter the fact that Speak Asia are operating a pyramid scheme, which is the only issue being discussed here.
Try to keep the discussion on topic, I couldn’t care less about your political and conspiracy theory justifications of the operation of a pyramid scheme.