February 19, 2024

Categories: Latest News

Did iCreate invest in Money Media?

So imagine my shock and surprise when I heard Tyrone Wilson say this.

” iCreate maybe communicate the most than anybody else. We were an investor in Taking Stock. We got Taking Stock started in our studio at iCreate in 2020.”- Tyrone Wilson

Say what now?

Several of you have been asking me about this.  I all get stop at the supermarket by people asking me if it’s true Tyrone own shares in Money Media, and I was like, what?  Because at the time I hadn’t seen the full press conference.

Thanks to my friends in the media for sending it to me because I had to hear this for myself.

For the record, Tyrone Wilson nor iCreate are not and have never been investors in Taking Stock or Kalilah Reynolds Media, now Money Media.

And let me just define what an investor is.

According to the esteemed website, Investopedia, an investor is, “a person or entity who commits capital with the expectation of financial return.”

Now the key phrase here is, “who commits capital”, meaning “who gives money”.

I have NEVER gotten any money/investment from Tyrone or iCreate.  The only shareholders in my company are myself and my husband, Dr. Richard Reynolds.

Again for the record, back when Taking Stock just started, I was a client of iCreate.  Meaning, I PAID iCreate for the use of their studio, equipment and production crew.

So this was not a favour or an in-kind donation that could somehow be construed as an investment by iCreate.

I paid J$90,000 per episode to produce Taking Stock at iCreate studio.  In addition, I gave iCreate a 30-second ad in the show, which at the time was selling for 25,000 dollars per spot.

So in total, I compensated iCreate J$115,000 per episode for their work.  And this was comparable to the going rate for studio rental and crew at the time in late 2019.

So I’m baffled as to how, me paying for a service is now being presented as you investing in my company.

And on top of that, for Tyrone to use that supposed “investment” as proof that he is so accessible to the media is also disingenuous.

Again for the record, Tyrone has been on Taking Stock a few times in the four years that we’ve been doing this show – all when they had something good to announce, and I gave him the opportunity to come on the platform.  

However, in the past year, he has declined multiple requests from us to come on the show, now that things aren’t as good.  Including one time when we cancelled the Opposition Leader, Mark Golding, for Tyrone, only for him to turn around and cancel on us at the very last minute.

Now some of you think that I have something against Tyrone because of how I present the stories about iCreate. Some of you think I look too happy when I talk about the company’s troubles.

Nothing could be further from the truth.  If you watch all of my videos, you’ll notice that that’s just my regular on-camera personality.  I get excited when business news is hot!  And it’s the same persona you would’ve seen when I reported on NCB, SSL and several other big business stories in the past year.

Ultimately, I want iCreate to succeed.  As a business owner myself, I know the struggle of running a business, having it find it when you’re short, making payroll, dealing with employees, and all that.

But that does not mean that as a Journalist, I am not going to hold the owners of publicly listed companies accountable.

I have a duty to help shareholders understand what is happening at the companies they invest in, so I will not sugarcoat facts.

And when you’re put into receivership, suspended twice, and now being sued, but still posting videos partying, it’s not a good look.

When investors – real investors – have given you their money, you have to be accountable.

And that’s the bottom line!