For the L3 LevelUp Bootcampers: business news in Omaha.
Bullies don’t stop bullying you until you fight back.
#HopeMarcWins
It’s so sad that it has to come to this.
Marc’s a good guy. He doesn’t deserve this aggravation.
that seems like a pretty clear cut case for Marc. he should sue for more than just what creighton bilked him for emotional distress.
i have a feeling his future omaha bootcamps will be held off campus…
First off, I realize that Marc is an exceptional instructor for the level 3 material. He’s got a lot of fans on the forums (particularly this one), and not without reason. I’ve never met him, but actually used some of his videos when I did my own L3 studies, and his stuff was very good. From what I’ve heard, his Bootcamp is far better. So I wish him the best in his new endeavor.
But I’d caution people about making a judgement about what’s going on solely from the article. I know a couple of the people at Creighton pretty well, and have heard a lot of different things regarding this whole incident. Their comments are likely at least a bit slanted, as I’m sure Marc’s will be. And I wouldn’t put it past one or more participants in the suit to sockpuppet (but that’d be risky, given the how the discovery process works in these things). That seems to be true of stories in general - almost every one of this type has three sides to it, and we’ll undoubtedly learn more as things progress.
Creighton has so far refrained from commenting on the matter. That’s only smart when you’re involved in a lawsuit. So we really don’t have much information (although the initial filing is a matter of public record). But the discovery process can be a B**ch. Having done more than a bit of expert witness work, I can testify that it was only marginally less unenjoyable than my last proctologist visit (although similar in character).
Creighton Bootcamp without Marc is just another bootcamp that no one would care about. University needs to understand that the following they have for bootcamps especially for level 3 is due to Marc. Candidates interested in Omaha bootcamp would go wherever Marc goes.
I hope he wins.
Looks like the next chapter in the saga is now out. Not much new info except that Creighton appears to be countersuing for $156K. Of course, that’s not uncommon in these types of suits. This could get interesting.
Any insight into the classes - are they worth it?
DISCLAIMER: I do not know Marc nor have I attended his classes btu I have watched his videos on Youtube.
I do not know if Marc is a CFA Charterholder but since he teaches the curriculum, I expect that he abides by the CFA Institute Standards of Practice Handbook (i.e. Ethics).
Did he get a written permission from the Dean of Business School (or any other official at the University) to conduct the business of teaching CFA curriculum? If yes, was the compensation (possible revenue) disclosed? Was he paying the University for using the campus for conducting these classes?
There are way too many open questions that I do not know the answers for.
Thanks
Harsh
Marc is a charterholder.
Disclaimers: I haven’t personally been to either Creighton’s or Marc’s bootcamps. But I have seen Marc’s older L3 bootcamp materials, and I also used his L3 Kaplan videos. Even though people say he wasn’t at his best on the Kaplan L3 modules he recorded, I thought he was very good on them. And his written L3 bootcamp material was also very good. By all accounts, the current version of his L3 bootcamp offers great value(I’ve reached out to some contacts in the Boston CFA socety (the BSSA), and they said very good things about hthe Boston sessions).
I can’t speak to the quality of the Creighton L3 bootcamp, since it’lll essentially be a new product (Marc was the main instructor when he was there, so it’s in flux). But I know some of the people involved in the L1 and L2 boots, and they’re all excellent instructors - weak instructors don’t last long at a high-priced teaching school like Creighton. So I expect they’ll also do a good (and possibly great) job on the first ir own L3 bootcamp. Time will tell.
As for who’s “right” in the lawsuit (or more importantly, who will prevail), only time and the legal process will tell - anyone trying to tell you otherwise is either bloviating or trying to sell you something. It’lll be determined by what’s actually in the employment contract Lefebvre had and by the actions he and the Creighton folks took.
Likewise for any CFA ethics issues - the process will work it out. It’s fun to speculate (hey- that’s what we do here on AF). But a lot of what people “know” must be the case is more likely driven by the personal feelings of the speculator than by fact (i.e. if you’re a fan of Marc, you’ll tend to think he’s in the right, and likewise if you have friends at Creighton).
It’s actually fun to watch speople speculate about things when you actually have some knowledge (albeit one-sided) on the actual facts. Not saying that’s the case here, but it might be…
wow, Marc was only making $71K and then he was stealing money from the university. What a sick dude.
Where did you get the idea that he was stealing money from the university?
Thanks S2000magician. Then I have no doubt that he must have done all that is taught in the Ethics part of the curriculum for all 3 levels.
Nobody in their right mind would be on the wrong side of the CFA institute for ethics violation and risk the hard earned charter for a few thousand dollars.
It’s actually $81,730.
I think the “stealing money” insinuation was sarcasm but I am not sure.
The dean of the business school should be fired for:
- Letting the most student-beloved Finance professor leave instead of putting him on a 5 yr contract or something ridiculous to keep the students happy and learning.
- Now having to hire two Finance professors to replace him, he was a teaching machine.
- Loosing any credibility to run the Creighton Bootcamp, bc Marc was running it! L3 is where the money is at and now they have nobody who knows anything about it to make it profitable. No more Marc to make the school well known for CFA style finance.
- Damaging the CU name for trying to steal from a professor who went independent. Who was under no contract to run the CU Bootcamps and who legitimatly started his own company on his own time. I don’t see any violations regarding CFAI ethics. He hasn’t done anything wrong.
I can understand when it was the Creighton Bootcamp there is profit sharing (more Marc making money for them for near nothing), but now they are trying to claim a penny from Marc’s LevelUp Omaha class after he started his own LevelUP Company, paid them rental space fees and produced his own entire book of slides and other Focus Package material…what is wrong with them? They want to steal his material now bc they can’t generate their own? What kind of religiously founded school is this??? Justice will prevail, --Jesus business academics who obviously don’t know how to run a business and take care of their best performer.
CU should be ashamed of themselves. I used to have some respect for the school and now I think they’re a bunch of idiots. Good for Marc, professors have titles but they make nothing. I guess why he was also working for Kaplan and doing the Bootcamp on top of his professor salary, which in Omaha I suppose buys a lot. If I was a student at CU, I would start a petition. The Creighton Univ students are actually getting the short hand in all this.
he was siphoning money from the Creighton Bootcamp and plugging into his LLC. He needs to be taken out to the gallows and hung me say!
Saying he stole (or diverted funds) is a pretty strong statement). Remember - that’s only claimed by Creighton, just as Lefebre claimed that they owed him the profits from previous years’ bootcamps.
Whether or not there was theft involved will be a matter for the court to decide. Lefebvre sues Creighton, and they countersue and claim he diverted funds (a nice way of saying “theft” without saying it). So at this point it’s a “he said/she said” case, and all that matters is what the Judge decides. If the court accepts the claim of alleged diversion of funds, it’ll be a big blow for Lefebvre - he’ll end up having to pay the money back and be out serious legal fees as well, have a serious black mark on his reputation, and probably take a pretty good hit to his business as well (maybe not, depending on how he plays it - it’ll take some delicacy and PR skills).
If Lefebvre wins on his original claim, I don’t know if he’d be awarded legal fees too (I’m not a lawyer). So in that case I don’t know how much he’ll end up with after all’s said and done. Winning’d be better for his rep (as far as doing his Level Up L3 bootcamps is concerned than if he loses, but I think it’ll still make it hard for him to get another university job).
He’s got a tough decision whether to settle or fight it out. Creighton probably has pretty deep pockets, so they could probably make his life miserable if he decided to play it out. If these sorts of things don’t end up with the winner getting costs reimbursed, I’d guess the party with the deeper pockets has the advantage.
I hope he has good legal representation, and that he listens to their advice.
No he wasn’t. CU did not have a L3 class last year. Practically everybody signed up to the L3 Bootcamp class understanding it was for the LevelUp Bootcamp that had 4 locations: NYC, Boston, Omaha and San Fran. A few people got confused I think and tried to sign up for L3 classes through CU and then they told him to straighten it out and he had to get them to sign up through LevelUp to get in the right class. CU did not have an L3 class.
LevelUP has always been a legally separate entity with it’s own website and accounting. Profit sharing from when it was Marc doing CU Bootcamps for them I would say maybe his loss to swallow but in 2015, CU was just providing the space and paid rent while doing their L1 and L2 that made very little if any money at all. It was some weird merge. Marc doesn’t have a L1 or L2 class, he’s ALL L3. Where is the conflict? He’s a contractor to the school, not even an employee I believe.
I think the school is upset he moved their cheese and now they have a budget gap.