12. Billionaire Prepares for Prison: Scott Tucker, Episode 3

Scott Tucker built a billion dollar business. He started with a single storefront. In this episode, the third episode in a multi-part series, we learn how.

Despite his not being a good student, Scott Tucker always had ambition. Like many young entrepreneurs, he started with lawn mowing businesses that he launched as a child. While in college, Scott found an opportunity to get involved in real estate. Scouring the classified ads, he secured an opportunity that netted him more than $100,000 for six months work. Then he invested those resources to build other businesses.

After a brief period in the car business, Scott discovered a new market. People were asking if they could provide him with a post dated check for a deposit. They needed a bit of liquidity until they received a paycheck.

Scott decided to start a company. People could write a post-dated check for $120. It would not be good until the person's payday. Scott would give the person $100 in exchange for that post dated check. That was how the payday loan business began.

Scott said that 1 out of 3 people who borrowed money for the first time chose not to repay the money. The business model had to build profits that would cover those anticipated losses. The strategy he deployed resulted in massive growth for the industry. It also resulted in massive amounts of revenues for his company, and employment for thousands of people.

Unfortunately, the government did not like the industry. Scott went through numerous trials. As described in the first episodes of this series, a jury convicted Scott of violating various federal laws. It's a white collar crime, but he faces decades in prison.