[iamleppert]

I wouldn't discount the guy completely and frame him as the "bad guy" here. Most of the ad sales industry guys are very similar to this guy. They operate in a realm going from deal to deal, sometimes only a single deal separates them from extreme success and utter destruction. Sadly, this guy seems to have a grouping on the negative side of things and might have been just starting out in the ads business himself. I would have even given him another chance, after he's been humbled a bit. Just make sure you have cash up front when dealing with these kinds of people -- they shouldn't be discounted immediately, rather just treat them like an untrustworthy child.

Just goes to show you shouldn't bank on any one deal coming through. As the management of a company, its your job to have not only one deal in the works, but preferably multiple deals, so called "deal flow" or "sales/prospect pipeline". You should be in constant prospect mode, and never give any one prospect any significant portion of your time. It's not like it takes a lot of effort to just talk to people. I realize its time consuming, but what we're you guys doing in between talking to this guy? You should have been working on other deals. That way if one doesn't work out, you can rely on the others and leverage them until your own bullshit wears out.

This is the proverbial case of "all eggs in one basket".

[mcphage]

> I would have even given him another chance

What value would there possibly be in giving him another chance? I mean, in this case it wasn't possible because he managed to tank the company on the way out, but had they managed to survive him, what would they possibly get out of working with him again?

[woah]

The guy literally lied about everything, including his name.

[zellyn]

I think faking a phone call to your lawyer is pretty unforgivable…