Ambit Energy, an energy multi-level marketing company, began operations in late 2006 from its base in Texas. Co-founders Jere Thompson, CEO, and Chris Chambless, CMO, both came from the telecommunications industry before starting the firm.
Thompson previously founded CapRock Fiber Networks in 1992. He built fiber and broadband networks across Texas, guiding CapRock into new markets and taking the company public. Under his leadership, CapRock grew to 1,300 employees and reported $300 million in annual revenues.
Chambless worked as a key part of the management team at Excel Communications, a Dallas-based telecommunications firm. Excel became the fourth largest long-distance firm in North America before Teleglobe, Inc. acquired it in 1996. Excel Communications utilized an MLM compensation plan to resell long distance services, a model that appears to have influenced Ambit Energy's structure. Chambless claims over 20 years of direct experience managing sales, marketing, and product management for companies ranging from startups to multi-billion dollar public firms.
In 2011, an Ambit Energy affiliate sued the company in New York. The lawsuit alleged breach of contract and claimed Ambit's multi-level marketing network was a "pyramid scheme." The consultant sought over one billion dollars in damages and aimed to permanently stop Ambit from doing business, soliciting, or enrolling customers and consultants in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Texas.
The plaintiff revised the original complaint multiple times. These revisions included the withdrawal of specific causes of action related to multi-level marketing and allegations of fraud. In August 2012, a judge dismissed the lawsuit. The ruling stated the plaintiff "failed to plead sufficient facts establishing the formation of a contract between BH Seven and Ambit."
Ambit Energy claimed 150,000 Independent Consultants at the time of the source article's publication. The company provides energy through third-party utilities in California, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas. Ambit Energy's website also lists Maryland and Washington D.C. as service areas, which was not reflected in older compensation plan materials.
The Ambit Energy compensation plan pays consultants through a combination of commissions and bonuses. These payouts derive from both customer acquisition and consultant recruitment.