Cforth Review: Mark Seyforth ditches Crowd1, steals exec
Back in July 2020 Mark Seyforth hitched his company LifeTRNDS to Crowd1.
Crowd1 is a Dubai-based Ponzi scheme run by Swedish national Jonas Werner.
Seyforth getting into bed with Crowd1 was a mutually beneficial arrangement; Crowd1 crowed about having products, Seyforth received a cut of money stolen through the Ponzi.
As of mid 2021, Seyforth was still on the Crowd1’s Ponzi payroll:
In an October 2021 Crowd1 marketing video, Seyforth suggested he was going to attach Cforth to Crowd1.
A lot of the people in Crowd1 don’t realize right now, that we’re in the middle of transitioning to a new platform after the first of the year. Now now.
We’ve taken, we’ve changed the platform a little bit. We’ve made it a little more robust, we’ve got a little more hotels and resorts in there.
Whatever plans for Cforth integration Seyforth had for Crowd1 had in late 2021, appear to have fallen through.
Today there’s no mention of Seyforth, LifeTRNDS or Cforth on Crowd1’s website.
From this we can conclude that Seyforth and LifeTRNDS quietly left Crowd1 sometime between late 2021 and early 2022.
Seyforth originally launched Cforth in Q2, 2021.
Circa May 2022, Seyforth rebooted Cforth with a “grand opening”:
Crowd1 doesn’t feature in the thirty-five Cforth launch video. Nor is there any mention of Crowd1 on Cforth’s website.
Crowd1 hasn’t mentioned LifeTRNDs or Seyforth on its official FaceBook page since September 2021:
Joining Seyforth in running Cforth is former Crowd1 Business Development Director Fredrik Stael von Holstein.
Seyforth appears to have poached von Holstein and appointed him CEO of Cforth.
Cforth doesn’t provide a corporate address on its website but Seyforth is believed to operate out of Florida.
Supporting this is Cforth’s website Terms and Conditions;
Jurisdiction and venue of any matter not subject to arbitration shall reside exclusively in Leon County, State of Florida. The Federal Arbitration Act shall govern all matters relating to arbitration.
The law of the State of Florida shall govern all other matters relating to or arising from the Agreement.
Seyforth’s MLM history dates back to 1975. Prior to getting involved in MLM Ponzi scamming, Seyforth founded One24 (2010), Day 1 (2012) and Goodlife USA (2016).
LifeTRNDS was essentially an extension of Goodlife USA, with both companies offering access to travel discounts.
Today both LifeTRNDS’ and Gooflife USA’s respective websites have been abandoned.
LifeTRNDS throws up a perpetual error and Goodlife USA was taken down prior to Seyforth partnering up with Crowd1
Read on for a full review of Cforth’s MLM opportunity.
Cforth’s Products
Cforth markets travel service discounts, fuel tabs and various nutritional supplements.
Cforth’s discount travel services platform is named Voyager.
Voyager is essentially a rebranding of LifeTRNDS. Retail customers sign up for free and get $75 in Hotel Credits.
Hotel Credits can be put towards purchased discounted travel services.
Cforth’s fuel tabs are branded Blaze EcoTech:
Blaze Ecotech is manufactured by Rennsli Corp, a third-party company headquartered in Utah.
Blaze Ecotech retails at
- $32 for ten tabs
- $125 for forty tabs
- $300 for 100 tabs
Cforth’s supplements are Nutragrove branded. They are manufactured by NutraLife BioSciences.
- 180 mg CBD Night Time Spray – “combination of hemp-derived cannabidiol, melatonin, 5-HTP, valerian root extract and GABA”, retails at $30.50 for a 1 fl. oz. bottle (30 ml)
- 180 mg CBD Daytime Spray – “energizing Daytime formula with hemp-derived cannabidiol, plus caffeine, green tea extract and resveratrol”, retails at $30.50 for a 1 fl. oz. bottle (30 ml)
- 250 mg CBD Pet Dropper – “delivers hemp-derived, full spectrum cannabidiol in a convenient dropper for your furry friends”, retails at $35 for a 1 fl. oz. bottle (30 ml)
- 500 mg CBD Spray – “provides hemp-derived CBD in a convenient spray form with a great-tasting peppermint flavor”, retails at $50 for a 1 fl. oz. bottle (30 ml)
- 1000 mg CBD Spray – “provides hemp-derived CBD in a convenient spray form with a great-tasting peppermint flavor”, retails at $80 for a 1 fl. oz. bottle (30 ml)
- IDo Deep Sleep Relief Patch – “advanced BioFrequency technology” that “provide(s) specific health benefits like pain relief and deeper sleep”, retails at $35 for a pouch of 12 patches
- 25mg CBD gummies (various flavors) – “delivers approximately 25mg of Cannabidiol (CBD) in a delicious gummy made with real fruit”, retails at $45 for a bottle of 25 gummies
- CoDefender Immune Booster – “21 essential vitamins & minerals”, retails at $37.99 for a bottle of 60 capsules
- Lavender Eucalyptus or Menthol Peppermint Pain Cream – “easy-to-apply skin cream with hemp-derived cannabidiol to soothe occasional aches and pains”, retails at $27.50 for a 1.5 oz tub (45 grams)
Cforth’s Compensation Plan
Cforth affiliates either sign up for free or pay a monthly subscription fee.
Commissions are paid
- on recruitment of fee-paying affiliates and
- on purchases of third-party products by retail customers and affiliates
Customer Credits
Cforth refers to commissionable sales volume as “Customer Credits” (CC).
When affiliates or retail customers spend money in the company, CCs are generated.
- paying DBO affiliate fees = 7 CCs per month
- paying DBO Pro affiliate fees = 28 CCs per month
- purchasing third-party products = CCs not disclosed
Note that no CCs are paid on Voyager travel related purchases.
For the purpose of commission calculation, 1 CC = $1.
eGigCoin
Cforth withholds 20% of commissions as eGigCoin.
eGigCoin is a non-tradeable token Cforth represents is pegged to the dollar, i.e. 1 eGigCoin = $1.
eGigCoin can be used to purchase “some” third-party products. Cforth affiliates have to submit a support ticket if they wish to convert eGigCoin into USD.
Cforth Affiliate Ranks
There are twenty-one affiliate ranks within Cforth’s compensation plan.
Along with their respective qualification criteria, they are as follows:
- Affiliate – sign up as a VIP (free) or paid DB or DBO Pro affiliate and continue to pay DB or DB Pro monthly fees
- Manager 1 – generate and maintain 30 CC a month (or a DB Pro membership), recruit 2 DB or DB Pro affiliates with 200 affiliates recruited company-wide after you signed up
- Manager 2 – maintain 30 CC a month (or a DB Pro membership), recruit 3 DB and/or DB Pro affiliates with 1000 affiliates recruited company-wide after you signed up
- Manager 3 – maintain 30 CC a month (or a DB Pro membership), recruit 4 DB and/or DB Pro affiliates with 5000 affiliates recruited company-wide after you signed up
- Manager 4 – maintain 30 CC a month (or a DB Pro membership), recruit 5 DB and/or DB Pro affiliates with 10,000 affiliates recruited company-wide after you signed up
- Senior Manager 1 – generate and maintain 40 CC a month, recruit 6 DB and/or DB Pro affiliates with 100,000 affiliates recruited company-wide after you signed up
- Senior Manager 2 – maintain 40 CC a month, recruit 7 DB and/or DB Pro affiliates with 250,000 affiliates recruited company-wide after you signed up
- Senior Manager 3 – maintain 40 CC a month, recruit 8 DB and/or DB Pro affiliates with 500,000 affiliates recruited company-wide after you signed up
- Senior Manager 4 – maintain 40 CC a month, recruit 9 DB and/or DB Pro affiliates with 750,000 affiliates recruited company-wide after you signed up
- Director 1 – generate and maintain 50 CC a month, recruit 10 DB and/or DB Pro affiliates with 1,000,000 affiliates recruited company-wide after you signed up
- Director 2 – maintain 50 CC a month, recruit 12 DB and/or DB Pro affiliates with an unspecified number affiliates recruited company-wide after you signed up (over 1 million)
- Director 3 – maintain 50 CC a month, recruit 14 DB and/or DB Pro affiliates with an unspecified number affiliates recruited company-wide after you signed up (over 1 million)
- Director 4 – maintain 50 CC a month, recruit 16 DB and/or DB Pro affiliates with an unspecified number affiliates recruited company-wide after you signed up (over 1 million)
- Executive Director 1 – generate and maintain 80 CC a month, recruit 18 DB and/or DB Pro affiliates with an unspecified number affiliates recruited company-wide after you signed up (over 1 million)
- Executive Director 2 – maintain 80 CC a month, recruit 20 DB and/or DB Pro affiliates with an unspecified number affiliates recruited company-wide after you signed up (over 1 million)
- Executive Director 3 – maintain 80 CC a month, recruit 22 DB and/or DB Pro affiliates with an unspecified number affiliates recruited company-wide after you signed up (over 1 million)
- Executive Director 4 – maintain 80 CC a month, recruit 24 DB and/or DB Pro affiliates with an unspecified number affiliates recruited company-wide after you signed up (over 1 million)
- Chief Executive Director 1 – generate and maintain 120 CC a month, recruit 26 DB and/or DB Pro affiliates with an unspecified number affiliates recruited company-wide after you signed up (over 1 million)
- Chief Executive Director 2 – maintain 120 CC a month, recruit 28 DB and/or DB Pro affiliates with an unspecified number affiliates recruited company-wide after you signed up (over 1 million)
- Chief Executive Director 3 – maintain 120 CC a month, recruit 30 DB and/or DB Pro affiliates with an unspecified number affiliates recruited company-wide after you signed up (over 1 million)
- Chair Director – generate and maintain 200 CC a month, recruit 35 DB and/or DB Pro affiliates with an unspecified number affiliates recruited company-wide after you signed up (over 1 million)
VIP affiliates’ CC is counted only from their own spend.
For DB and DB Pro affiliates, their own CC is grouped with that of their personally recruited affiliates.
Recruitment Commissions
Cforth affiliates are able to sign up with a Fast Start Package.
Fast Start Package costs are not disclosed on Cforth’s website or in their compensation plan.
What we do know is Cforth affiliates earn $250 per Fast Start Package affiliate recruited.
Straight-line Queue Commissions
Cforth takes 25% of CC volume and uses it to fund straight-line queue commissions.
Everyone who signs up as a Cforth affiliate is placed into a queue.
There are two tiers to Cforth’s straight-line queue commissions:
- DBO and DBO Pro affiliates earn an unspecified cut of CCs generated by twenty VIP, DB and DB Pro affiliates placed after each VIP, DB and DB Pro affiliate they recruit
- DBO Pro affiliates earn an unspecified cut of CCs generated by the next 20 DB Pro affiliates, placed after every DB Pro affiliate they personally recruit
I.e. you recruit someone and earn on the next twenty affiliates placed directly after them (VIP , DB and DB Pro for tier one, DB Pro only for tier 2).
Seeing as the queue is populated through company-wide recruitment, these are likely to be indirectly recruited affiliates.
Note that straight-line queue commissions skip over inactive affiliates (people not paying fees). There is no compression on inactive positions – so if all twenty positions are inactive, you won’t earn anything.
Residual Commissions
Cforth takes 50% of company-wide CCs and uses them to fund residual commissions.
Cforth pays residual commissions via a unilevel compensation structure.
A unilevel compensation structure places an affiliate at the top of a unilevel team, with every personally recruited affiliate placed directly under them (level 1):
If any level 1 affiliates recruit new affiliates, they are placed on level 2 of the original affiliate’s unilevel team.
If any level 2 affiliates recruit new affiliates, they are placed on level 3 and so on and so forth down a theoretical infinite number of levels.
Cforth caps payable unilevel team levels at ten:
- VIP affiliates earn residual commissions on three unilevel team levels
- DB and DB Pro affiliates earn residual commissions on ten unilevel team levels
Note Cforth doesn’t specify residual commission rates.
Global Bonus Pools
Cforth takes 25% of company-wide CCs and uses them to fund twenty Global Bonus Pools.
These Global Bonus Pools correspond with Cforth affiliate ranks (Manager 1 through Chair Director).
Note that higher ranked Cforth affiliates earn on all qualified for Global Bonus Pools, not just the current corresponding rank pool.
I.e. Director 1 earns on all the Manager and Senior Manager pools. Chair Directors earn a share in all twenty available Global Bonus Pools.
Joining Cforth
Cforth affiliate membership is available at three price-point tiers:
- VIP – free to sign up
- DB – $29.95 a month
- DB Pro – $69.95 a month
The primary difference between the membership tiers are bundled third-party products and increased income potential.
Note there is also a Fast Start Package available. Costs are not disclosed.
Cforth Conclusion
Seyforth pitches Cforth as an “eGig Marketing Company”. That’s a fancy way of saying “we sell subscriptions and other people’s products”.
Ironically Mark Seyforth’s own contribution, Voyager (essentially a continuation of LifeTRNDS), is excluded from Cforth’s compensation plan. He keeps that money to himself.
Despite very clearly operating as an MLM company with an MLM compensation plan, Seyforth is in denial about Cforth being an MLM company.
Is CFORTH a Direct Marketing or Direct Selling Company?
No. CFORTH is an online marketplace where people who have access, can purchase products and services of quality value and at discount prices.
Further, people can join CFORTH for free and it is not mandatory for a Non-Paying Customer (referred to as a VIP Customer) to upgrade to a paid subscription.
In other words: a VIP customer can remain a VIP customer for life (without paying anything).
VIP customers can even earn income based on referrals who enter the Marketplace and purchase products and services.
None of that addresses Cforth having an MLM compensation plan and thus operating as an MLM company.
ProTip: Calling your affiliates “customers” doesn’t change your MLM business model.
I believe the reason behind Seyforth refusing to acknowledge Cforth being an MLM company, is because it’s a pyramid scheme.
Retail is possible but hamstrung by the free affiliate option, which provides a 5% order discount.
This guarantees Cforth will have no retail customers. The FTC is clear that MLM companies without significant retail sales are pyramid schemes.
Given Seyforth had no issues partnering up with Crowd1, a Ponzi pyramid hybrid, this shouldn’t come as a surprise.
As to Cforth’s products itself, there are a few gas tablet opportunities doing the rounds. My take on these products is, if they worked, everyone would already be using them.
The Nutragrove CBD offering is pretty bog-standard – with the exception of the IDo Deep Sleep Relief Patch and its “advanced BioFrequency technology”.
Riiiiiighhhh…..t.
While I’m obviously skeptical on the product itself, they do provide some context to Cforth’s lack of retail viability.
if you do want to purchase the patches they’re available for $11.99 for a pouch of six, directly from the manufacturer:
Why would a retail customer pay Cforth $35 for 12 patches (effectively $17.50 for six)?
Even Cforth’s DBO Pro 25% discounted price ($26.25 for twelve so $13.12 for six), is still more expensive than buying the patches direct.
The answer is of course “because buying the products direct doesn’t pay recruitment commissions”.
One interesting aspect of Cforth’s marketing is putting actor Neal McDonough front and center:
McDonough has joined Cforth as the company’s “Brand Ambassador”, allowing Seyforth to pile on the “legitimacy via association”;
Neal McDonough has joined CFORTH! Neal is a world-famous American actor and producer who has over 130 movies and series to his credit. He has worked with the biggest names in Hollywood in countless blockbusters since the 1990s.
Neal is one of Hollywood’s most respected actors. He now joins CFORTH as the company’s Brand Ambassador and will oversee the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (“CSR”).
Also, he will promote CFORTH through Commercials, on Social Media and Events. Being a man of faith, Neal McDonough is passionate about charity and helping people in need, especially children.
And during the fall of 2022, the company’s CSR strategy will be developed by CFORTH and Neal McDonough.
Apparently that’s all it takes to wash away stealing a boatload of money from Crowd1 Ponzi victims.
Whether McDonough is aware Seyforth and Fredrik Stael von Holstein are fresh off the Dubai Ponzi gravy train is unclear. He should, because whatever he’s been paid to front Cforth as a Brand Ambassador is tainted money.
In any event, legitimacy via association isn’t a thing. Cforth operates as a pyramid scheme – with or without McDonough’s involvement.
That last thing I want to touch on eGigCoin.
The play here seems to be convert eGigCoin into USD manually, and only convert it into a cryptocurrency if enough affiliates sign up.
Is the eGigcoin a cryptocurrency?
No, it’s not. The eGigcoin is not a cryptocurrency, it is a token. We have the intention to convert the eGigCoin to become one of the first cryptocurrencies to have a true valuation prior to being globally traded in the second half of 2023.
Until that time, the eGigcoin will act as a token.
CFORTH does not guarantee that the eGigCoin will be converted into a cryptocurrency.
Neither does CFORTH guarantee anything related to the price, or valuation, of the eGigCoin if and when the eGigCoin is converted into, and traded as, a cryptocurrency.
An exit-scam in waiting, if you will.
For his part, Seyforth pitches eGigCoin with the usual “we’re gonna be the next bitcoin” spiel;
This is a coin that later will become a trading cryptocurrency.
Imagine being at the foundation of a cryptocurrency like bitcoin. Well, that’s a possibility here.
At time of publication SimilarWeb ranks 100% of traffic to Cforth’s website as originating from the Philippines:
So much for Cforth’s “Chinese Theater marketing office” in Hollywood.
With a marketing and sales office at the iconic Chinese Theater, CFORTH reaches 5 million visitors annually.
Come visit us!
I also don’t think Cforth recruitment taking off in the Philippines is a coincidence.
The Philippine SEC went in pretty hard on Crowd1. What’s the bet that disrupted downline is now in Cforth?
Whatever the story, unless new Cforth victims are found outside the Philippines, once recruitment dries up there it’s over.
In addition to being an illegal business model the world over, math guarantees the majority of participants in pyramid schemes will lose money.
Update 11th March 2023 – Cforth has spun off its MLM opportunity as StoplightGo.
