The goal of this article is to provide an independent Ignite Energy review. Please know that I am not affiliated with the company in any way and never have been in the past. All information was conducted from independent research online. Ignite Energy is a registered trademark, owned by the company.
About the Company
Ignite Energy, also known as Stream Energy, is a multi-level marketing company that specializes in energy services such as gas, electricity, identity protection and credit monitoring.
Since the de-regulation of the energy industry in the United States, consumers now have a choice about who they purchase their energy from. Although the energy is still delivered to the consumer the same way, consumers can shop around with different utility companies to find the best price.
One of those new utility companies is Ignite Energy, a subsidiary of Stream Energy.
Ignite doesn’t manufacture any product or produce energy itself. Instead, it buys energy at wholesale prices and allows its independent sales force to sell the energy via the direct sales business model. The independent consultants focus on finding new customers and distributors, while the company processes the orders, sends out invoices and bills, tracks commissions and pays its distributors.
Ignite Energy started in 2005. In its first year, the company grossed $70 million in revenue. Since its inception, it has achieved phenomenal success. In 2009, the company revenue was $845 million. The company is well on its way to reaching $1 billion in gross revenue. Personally, I find that amazing. Very few companies reach billion in revenue in that short of a time.
Not many MLM Companies reach $1 billion in annual sales. What makes that feat even more amazing is that they only do business in six states and Washington D.C. Those states include Texas, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Washington D.C.
What’s Great About the Company
What’s great about the company is that there are no products to inventory or sell. Instead, you simply get people to switch their utility company to Ignite Energy. Even better, just about everyone has an energy bill. And regardless of how bad the economy gets, most people will still pay their energy bill in order to keep their electricity working.
In most other MLM Companies, when money gets tight, distributors and customers will cancel their monthly auto-ship. Items such as pills, potions, shakes, and juices are luxury items. Yes, they’re good, but they are a “want” item not a “need” item. On the other hand, your utility bill is a commodity, must have item!
Additionally, the energy industry is a $500 billion industry. That means that Ignite Energy has the potential to become a multi-billion dollar company. The company only operates in a few states. Just think how big the company will be when it operates in all fifty states. In my opinion, this is a ground-floor opportunity with unlimited potential.
What I Don’t Like About Ignite Energy
The only thing I don’t like about the company is the $300+ fee to join plus the $29 ongoing website fee. I personally believe that both of these things should be free for reps. Some people might even argue that most of the commissions paid out are from people paying this large sign up fee and not from the monthly utility bills.
Another thing I don’t like is that the reps are so recruiting focused. I know this has nothing to do with the corporate team itself, but the distributor “culture” is all about recruiting new distributors, not finding customers. Obviously, it’s more profitable to the distributor to recruit another distributor, rather than find a new customer.
I’m by no means knocking the company. No MLM Company, or regular business, is perfect. Every company has good and bad things about it.
Other posts you may enjoy:
- Viridian Energy Business & Product Review
- Ambit Energy Review
- Top MLM Energy Companies: Which One is Best?
- Top MLM Books of All Time
- The Top 10 MLM Stocks
How to Get Started
How do you get started with Ignite? To get started as a distributor, you need to find a good sponsor. Your sponsor is the person who shares the Ignite business opportunity with you and agrees to train and motivate you. In essence, they are your own personal Ignite coach.
Next, you agree to pay the $300 sign up costs (approximate) and also agree to abide by the company’s terms and conditions. Once you do that, you own your own business. Even better, you are in business for yourself, but not by yourself. You have support team to guide you and coach you.
Most new distributors are taught to initially work with their warm market, by making a name list of all of their friends and family. They are then taught to contact these folks by phone, email or in person to introduce them to the business.
How You Make Money
How do you earn money with Ignite? It’s really simple. Your primary goal is to educate consumers about Ignite and get them to switch their utility account to Ignite. When they do that, you earn an immediate commission and you also earn residuals each month they continue to keep Ignite as their utility company.
You want to teach people why they should consider switching their utility companies. I believe most people will be open minded; especially if you can show them a way to save money.
The next thing you need to do is find people to personally sponsor as an Ignite distributor. As you sponsor new distributors, your goal is to help them find customers and downline distributors. As you grow your sales organization, you earn commissions and overrides off your group’s sales volume. The larger your group sales, the more money you earn. As you progress through the Ignite achievement levels, the company also offers leadership bonuses, cash incentives and other rewards.
The most successful Ignite distributors and top earners find lots of personal customers (at least 50 to 100) and build a large downline of distributors. They combine offline and online recruiting efforts to build their business. In addition, they treat their Ignite business as if they had millions of dollars invested in it. They work their business consistently every week, always looking for potential customers and distributors to partner up with.
Ignite Class Action Lawsuit
In 2014, there was a class action lawsuit placed against Stream Energy claiming that they sell through a pyramid scheme in violation of federal racketeering laws. I have searched online and could not find the results of this case.
Ignite Competitors
- Local Providers
- ACN
- Ambit Energy
- Viridian
- Momentis
- North American Power
You can also read a post I did about the top 7 MLM Energy Companies.
Top Leaders
Some of the top leaders in the company include Presley and Jeanie Swagerty, Steve and Diane Fisher, Greg and Heather McCord, and Randy and Marcie Hedge. These leaders are all Presidential Directors, the highest rank in the company.
Third Party Reviews
After doing some research online about Stream Energy, here are some things I found:
- They have an A rating with the Better Business Bureau
- As of October 2014, they have a 2.5 of 5 rating with 10 reviews on Yelp
- Here is a page I found with lots of good and bad reviews of the company
Ultimately, it’s hard to find unbiased reviews online. Many reviews are written by reps or by distributors in other companies, so they are either extremely positive or extremely negative.
The best thing you can do is trust your own intuition and do your due diligence. Be an educated consumer.
Final Thoughts
After reviewing the company, I believe it is a great business opportunity for someone who is willing to get involved, work hard, be open minded and think long-term. My best advice is to start out as a customer for your first 90 days.
Try out the service and make sure that you like it and save money on your utility bill BEFORE you decide to become a distributor.
If you think the service provides a good value then you should consider becoming a distributor. If you decide to become a distributor, pick your sponsor wisely. Team up with someone who has been with the company for a while, knows what they are doing and is willing to help you succeed.
Finally, come up with a game plan, make a commitment and get focused. This is not some type of get rich quick plan. You have to work hard, be consistent and stick with it for a few years. Rome wasn’t built in a day.
On a side note, if you are currently (or formerly) involved with Ignite as a customer or distributor, I would love to hear your story. Share a product testimonial or success story by leaving a comment below.
Chuck Holmes
20+ Year Network Marketing Professional
Top Earner & Top Recruiter
Email: mrchuckholmes@gmail.com
P.S. Learn how to grow a successful network marketing business. Secret tips, training, and practical ideas. Free training delivered by email.
Hi Chuck I appreciate your reviews! I also wanted to clear up something that Richard said about the commissions of Stream! the cheapest commission we have is .25 on our second to 2.00 on our 5th level! and after 20 personal customer the commission go from .50 to 4.00 dollars a customer! I have compared comp plans with Ambit, they do not compare!!! we have never had a .5 cent commission at any level! I am an associate with Stream and I would recommend this business to anyone that is willing to actually put forth effort and not give up!
Thanks Chuck for the review! I am an associate with Stream for almost a year and 1/2 ! I have enjoyed being a part of Stream! what an amazing opportunity I have been a part of! as far as bad reviews goes! People that join this type of business and do nothing with it shouldnt blame the Company for failure! they need to stop whining and get in a welfare line if they expect a free ride!
Thanks for the comment. Glad to hear you are having a good experience with Stream Energy. Here’s to your success!
I have read up on the class action lawsuit against Stream Energy. It is still sitting on court dockets with lawyers battling back and forth. The biggest issue with this is what it could mean to MLMs nationwide.
The whole suit comes down to the $329 fee that members must pay to join. This is what attorneys argue make Stream a pyramid scheme. They claim that early people in the company gain from those fees, whereas new members don’t.
The whole lawsuit could harm many MLMs who charge enrollment fees. Thus far, the suit has stayed quite “hush-hush.” It is something that I recommend many network marketers may want to watch closely, especially if the MLM you are involved with charges membership fees.
This article explains a lot:
It’s going to be interesting to see how this one works out.
I personally have issues with that large amount a distributor has to pay to sell Ignite Energy. The $29 for a website is unheard of, especially if you do not have control of the items that go on that website.
While you may find Ignite Energy a good deal, I don’t think I would buy into the system. With the fees and the fact that more distributors are set on getting distributors instead of sales too, it just seems questionable to me.
I will say that energy MLM is an upcoming force, and I see it as being a good business to get into.
So this does seem like a good business to get into simply because the need for energy never really goes away. So if you can get a person to switch to Ignite energy, then you’ve generally got a customer for life. That makes a lot of sense and takes a lot of the pressure off of the distributors. I also, really like the idea that there is a support team to help guide and assist people. Everyone needs a little help and it is nice to know that they have a dedicated team willing to help when needed.
Yes, energy is a big business with tons of opportunity.
This was a very well written review. Personally, I don’t know if I would get involved in an energy MLM. After what Richard said about getting such low commissions per customer, it even turns me off more. I have always been one who feels getting customers should be the first priority, and getting distributors the second.
Lastly, they are not in Puerto Rico. We do need some major help on this island with energy costs and I don’t think deregulation has hit here.
Great post and I hope all who join Ignite Energy do well.
Hi Chuck,
Good review of Ignite. A couple of things though. You left out Pennsylvania as one of the states they operate in. Although their revenues are about $845 million they are not on their way to $1 billion. Well, maybe they are, but over the past 2 years their revenues have dropped.
Ignite used to be the leader in the field of deregulated energy, but now they are a follower. Ambit Energy has passed them in revenues. Many of the compensation benefits that Ambit has had along have now been adopted by Ignite.
The reason that Ignite distributors are so focused on recruiting is because they get paid so little on each customer they get. A distributor gets a mere nickle per customer per month. That does go up as you advance in the comp plan. I believe that you can make up to $2.00 per month per meter if you are the top levels. Still, not great pay.
It is cheaper to join Ignite than it is to sign up with Ambit. Ambit costs about $500.00 to join.
You can get free electricity from Ignite if you get 20 customers for them.
The reason that Ignite’s revenues are falling, in my opinion, is that the cost of electricity is more expensive with them than the incumbent utility, about 6 months out of the year. I would think that this would make it difficult to sell electricity during the months that the electricity is more expensive.
Thanks for all of the insights. I appreciate it.
Much has changed in STREAM since this post has been made.Getting paid very good money just for bringing in customers now makes this very attractive