did you get your grants

I also paid them $3750.00 now number disconected. I called information there is another company called Acumen & Merit is this the same, the phone number is 702-990-3993. Has any one looked into it. What can we do ?

If you have a valid phone number for business acumen i could really use it. I've tried multiple numbers and have not been able to reach  anyone. thanks

Ive tried calling the people at Business Acumen Inc. all phone numbers have been disconnected. Please if you have any information on this company respond back to me i've all ready given them 7000. dollars.  Thank You  Michael

We got scammed too. Put up the 3750.00 and got the same stupid CD and Internet site thing. We already had two nice sites. We didn't need their poor excuse for a site. What a rip off. Then we got pressured into a 5000 payment and we foolishly did that. Still nothing. We called and left word. No one would return call. Then we got a call from some character, Goldstein by name, and said Alcoa had approved us and if we would send another 6800.00 they would do documentation and we would have 200,000. We laughed. He kept calling and when we said we were reporting him and the whole mess to the attorney general, he hung up. What a rip off. Now their nbumber 702-506-0890 is out of order. Ha.

I do not beleive you or anyone else will ever receive a grant. You pay your $3750, and get a basic website and business plan. This is all based on the promise that you will get the grant and then pay the additional funds to them. This does not happen. They get your confidence through the business plan and website and then say they have a private investors grant and insist on getting the balance funds up front. When you refuse and ask them to keep their promises they vanish. I do not know of anyone who has received the grant.

What number do you call to get in contact with them? I have called them everyday for a week and left multiple messages and no one has called me back. I have been calling 702-506-0890. Is there another number or an extention i should try? Thanks

Business Acumen Inc is running a scam!  If you wish to further investigate contact Gene Tierney with the FBI in Las Vegas  702-584-5536

I agree

I received a recorded phone message to stay on the line at my business.  It was a sales call.  I stayed on the line to let them know I am on the DO NOT CALL list - they hung up on me!

robo call about "free" money for "my business" which came to my private cell number that is on the national and state do not call lists...

This is yet another of the unchecked b___s___ scam organizations that are allowed to practice this illicit crap in this country.

I received the same call but because they didn't get a live voice, they hung up. I already filed a complaint to the FCC online since we are on the Do Not Call Registry as well.

Rec'd call from 206-397-1080...recording...received this date 3:08pm PDT....on our main business line.  Our service is on the "Do Not Call" Registry and therefore they have broken federal law.  Solicited grant money availability or something.   Very annoying for business interruption.

Donna you may qualify for a government grant.  They do assist minorities and women to start a business for profit. Go to foundationcenter.org.  The librarians there are very helpful.  You can chat or call.

Agreed.  There is no tax incentive for corporations to grant money to an upstart or an existing small businesses for profit.  The 501c3 is the only way a corporation can grant money and receive a tax credit from the IRS (education and non profit entities).  Remember, corporations will only do business that will benefit them.  They are true Capitalists.  If you have an excellent business plan that evolves around their line of business you can go directly to them.  They just might invest but NEVER grant. If the government ever decides to issue a credit then you would see an incentive for the corporation to grant money to small businesses and upstarts for profit.

As much as I like the rational to get money pumping into the economy the government does not believe small business upstart or otherwise would utilize the money for building a new business.

This company probably does a phenomenal job at writing business plans and building websites to warrant getting a line of credit from a bank but getting grant money is probably not going to happen now nor in the future.

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Hello All, Well, I too am new at a company whose owners bite the bullet with Biz Acumen. They paid the intial application fee and website/biz plan booklet fee of around $7000. Back in Dec10 they called and said we won the elimination round and were in line to receive a private grant of $800k. Not only that but that was just for year one. If we maintained a perfect accounting and meet all their guideline for disbursement and recordkeeping, we could "automatically" be allotted an additional $800K for the next FOUR yrs. Being new, I took all this in stride, and since it was a done deal, what the heck.

Well, yesterday, we received a call for another company calling for BA with what the next steps were and the details we must follow. This included the setting up of a 501c3 Non-profit charitable foundation using the IRS form 1023, and our state department. This was so 5% of the grant, now with a new foundation(now there are 2) grant of $375k. AND in order to do that, we did to sign a service agreement of the 501c3 setup, and WIRE $6800 more dollars. Which the owner did. With this developed I came very skeptical and said so to the owner. I was told, "not to talk like that".

So, now we were told after the 501c3 in setup we will get a letter of determination from the IRS or the State approving our non-profit charity. After that is received we are to fax BA the letter, and they will delivery to the foundation, and THEN...they will release the money.  Yeah Sure...and pigs fly too. So I don't dare say anything for fear of reprisal or dismissal. So we'll see. I will keep you all posted.

I just want to know if ANYONE have an example of the website they setup for your business. Also wouldn't it just be better to sign a promissory letter so if the company decides not to pay you can take them to court. Actually be honest if someone can get you $200.000, why wouldn't they want to pay the 6,000. Everyone knows small business just don't have that kind of money to give away.

Sounds like you have this scam outfit figured out. People should remember that once you pay the $3750.00 up front money and sign the contract they got you. It does not matter what the slick guy on the phone says. Only the terms of the contract matter. Of course, it's in fine print but you should read it. They cover themselves every which way. Nobody ever actually gets free grant money.

Got a call from these people and told them their pitch sounded like a scam and after a minute I hung up.  They called back and threatened me.  Grants are made to non-profits and NEVER to individuals.

So these Biz Acumen clowns finally got back to us today.... a week later than they promised. Since then I have done a little digging and not only do they have a horrible rep with the BBB but they are UNDER INVESTIGATION BY THE FBI. My boss confronted the sales rep and she confirmed they Business Acumen is indeed under investigation by the FBI and then she rolled right back into her sales pitch like it didnt even matter. lolz my boss hung up on her mid sentence. AND THEN she had the audacity to call back and and yell at my boss for hanging up on her.

Anyone who receives a call from these jerkwads be advised; these people are straight up con artists.

All you will get for your up front money is demands for more money. Free grant money is rarely provided for small business start ups or expansion. You need to apply for a small business loan. Business Acumen, Inc has an F rating from the BBB. The worst possible!

Great response, "deduct the $3750 from the first grant payment! " - Ha! Business Acumen, Inc has a BBB rating of F. Very bad. Anyone who sends them up front money for free grant money will regret it. About all you will get is requests for more money. Better you apply for a small business loan from your bank or the SBA (federal gov't).

Business Acumen, Inc has an F rating with the BBB. The lowest possible. If you are trying to raise money to start or expand your business you need to apply for a small business loan. Not a grant! You will NEVER receive grant money from this company.

Have you received your grant money? Very doubtful,
Thx, jay

My boss responded to a call from these people a few months back. He gave them the basic info and they told him that our company didn't qualify for the amount we were trying to get (around 650k)

Today out of the blue they called us and said they had gone ahead and ran the paperwork (without our knowledge) and gotten us approved for 250k and if we sent them their fee they could get our first grant check in June. So we told them that we would be happy to pay them if we could pay them out of the first grant check. Makes sense right? If the paperwork is already done and we are already approved then they risk nothing by agreeing to this. Well the rep said she would "run it by her boss" and get back us this afternoon.

Sounds way to good to be true but I guess we'll know in a couple hours.....

I WANNA F***

this guy,s have call me also to try to scam me i hope the FBI caches them because they try to scam me also here in bakersfield california thank the lord i have fouded this web site also report this people i was about to give the more than 2,000 dollars on a bussines check that i really need for my home taxes. I HOPE THEY CACHE PEOPLE LIKE THIS.THERE ARE BAD FOR OUR SOCIETY.

I received a call from them yesterday, I am in the process of applying for some grant funding so I am vaguely familiar with the process. She asked all the right questions initially, but then said she would try to get me 2 million dollars from a "few" different sources. Right away bells went off. Today I recieved a call from the actual sales person, we went over general info and she said I was approved for 750k, but there was an application process. Then she starts going into whats needed to obtain a grant. She said that funding companies want a "web-presence" and that they build a web site and their "technicians" go into google and get placement. I run a consulting firm that specializes in SEO/SEM etc. I have been involved in digital marketing for years, immediately more bells started sounding. I pretended as if I didnt know what she was talking about and asked how they got us on the first page of google. She took me to google adwords where they show keyword traffic. I let her hang herself. After she went through the entire pitch i showed her that we already came up on the first page in google. She immediately went back into the pitch. Then she sent me this echosign agreement that included a corporate search for the company in nevada. ANY legitimate company would NEVER just offer the corporate info with the owners name on it. This reeks of b***s***!

I've received numerous calls from Business Acumen Inc.  Yesterday, I finally decided to speak to one of the representatives to see how legitimate the offer really is.

I spoke with Lisa Hornyak.  She was pleasant to deal with.  I would say that she didn't seem to be extremely knowledgeable about the service she was offering.  I took notes throughout the entire conversation, which was close to 30 minutes.  After giving her very basic information about my company, she said I was pre-approved for $419,000.  She said that a supervisor would call me back within 2 hours-3 DAYS (big gap in callback time) to let me know what the decided amount was for the grant.

Lisa made it very clear that this was NOT a government grant.  It was basically a grant given by numerous large companies that need to give away money for tax write-offs to other businesses that are deserving and will use it for the right reasons and stimulate the economy.  It all sounds too good to be true.  I'm still looking forward to the supervisor calling me back to see what he has to say.

At first, Lisa told me she didn't know the company's main telephone number.  Later in the conversation, she offered it to me.  The number she gave me is:  1-888-815-3005.  The number she called from was:  1-714-409-0333.

I'm obviously not falling for it.  I'd never pay a down payment of $3,750 only hoping that my $419K in grant money will come to me 90 days later.  Be careful people!