Global Hangout rebranded as Hubity last month, naming Jack St. Arnaud and Troy Kearl as co-founders. This change followed earlier concerns about the company's lack of retail and affiliate distinction. Global Hangout had previously faced scrutiny over its product and business model.
Initial reviews of Global Hangout highlighted a primary concern: inadequate differentiation between retail subscribers and affiliates. The company required subscribers to re-register free of charge to access commissions. This appeared more as a pseudo-compliance measure than a genuine effort to separate retail customers from those primarily interested in the income opportunity. Such setups commonly result in companies retaining mostly affiliate subscribers.
Secondary issues included a lack of management or ownership information on Global Hangout's website. The company's core product, Google Hangout training videos, was already offered free by Google, the service's creator. Official Google training has been available since the Hangout service launched in August 2011. This raised questions about why customers would pay $99 for training already freely accessible.
The thin distinction between customers and affiliates suggested that most individuals would not pay $99 for Google Hangout training alone. Instead, the attached income opportunity likely drove sign-ups.
Hubity now presents company and management information clearly on its website. Jack St. Arnaud and Troy Kearl are listed as co-founders in the "Featured Management Team Bios" section.
St. Arnaud's Google Plus profile identifies him as an affiliate for MLM company Lifestyles International from 1992 to 2010. During his 18 years with Lifestyles, St. Arnaud reached the rank of Global Marketing Director.
Troy Kearl previously served as Agel's Vice-President of Japan Operations around 2005. He later emerged as an affiliate for Nucerity, receiving their "Founder's Award for Leadership" in 2011. Following his time at Nucerity, Kearl rejoined Agel founder and CEO Glen Jensen as Vice-President of Marketing for Uprize.
Uprize, an MLM company launched in early 2012, attempted to combine forex trading with multi-level marketing. The company ceased operations within a year of its launch. In April 2013, Kearl also appeared in a marketing video for Jeunesse. He acted as a translator for a woman identified as "Nicole Diamond" in that "welcome video."