Max Weiss

Full Report

Key Points

• Max Weiss, a young German entrepreneur, founded Weiss Consulting & Marketing GmbH, focusing on online coaching for social media agencies, but faces significant legal challenges over invalid contracts sold via platforms like Copecart.
• A 2024 ruling by Landgericht Ulm declared his coaching contracts null and void due to unfair terms, misleading sales tactics, and lack of consumer protections, marking a major setback.
• Allegations include overpromising financial success, aggressive debt collection, and shifting sales platforms to evade scrutiny, with customer complaints highlighting financial losses and poor value.
• While promotional materials showcase positive testimonials, independent reports reveal a pattern of dissatisfaction, including hidden fees and waived cancellation rights.
• The business operates within a broader group including a social media agency and cleaning services, but coaching remains the most controversial arm.

Overview

Max Weiss is a 23-year-old self-made entrepreneur based in Germany, known for his work in social media marketing and online coaching. He founded Weiss Consulting & Marketing GmbH, a digital consulting firm that helps individuals launch social media agencies and scale online businesses. His offerings include paid mentoring programs like the “Social Media Agency Academy,” which promise earnings of €1,000 to €5,000 monthly with minimal experience, alongside free resources such as podcasts on platforms like Spotify. The company is part of the larger Weiss Firmengruppe, encompassing a social media agency for brand building and customer acquisition, a cleaning firm (O&H Management GmbH) with over 15 locations, and a holding company investing in real estate and other ventures. Weiss positions himself as a mentor for startups and established firms, emphasizing data-driven marketing, AI integration, and efficient budgeting through aspirational content on YouTube and social media.

Allegations and Concerns

• Misleading marketing: Promotional videos and claims like “3 million in 3 months without working” lure customers with unrealistic success stories, leading to accusations of deception in the online coaching industry.
• Unfair contract terms: Sales funnels via Copecart required customers to waive their 14-day right of withdrawal, often without clear disclosure, trapping buyers into high-cost commitments.
• Aggressive recovery tactics: Linked to debt collection firms issuing threatening letters demanding payment within a week, warning of “expensive legal proceedings,” which intimidated consumers despite some demands being successfully challenged.
• Platform evasion: After complaints peaked, products were removed from Copecart in August 2023 and relisted on Digistore24, interpreted as an effort to reset accountability and silence critics through legal notices to consumer sites.
• Broader red flags: Lack of required licenses for financial advice in coaching content, contributing to court findings of invalidity; pattern of high-pressure sales mirroring “coaching traps” criticized by German consumer advocates.

Customer Feedback

Positive reviews, often from Weiss’s own platforms, praise practical guidance and business growth. For example, one testimonial states, “Max Weiß’ Mentoring is absolutely recommendable. It offers individual guidance to build a successful agency from the ground up,” highlighting perceived value in modules on agency setup. Another notes, “The input from the coaching has definitely brought me more than the investment cost,” crediting networking opportunities.

Negative feedback centers on unmet expectations and financial burdens. Customers report feeling “burdened by debt, frustration, and regret” after discovering hidden terms, with one describing, “A cancellation cannot be granted… since you waived your right of cancellation when you purchased the product.” Complaints on forums like gutefrage.net question legitimacy, with users asking, “Has anyone had experiences with Max Weiss Coaching?” amid sparse independent endorsements. Consumer reports detail “misleading claims and unclear terms,” leading to successful refunds via lawyers, though many felt “harassed and intimidated” by follow-ups.

Risk Considerations

Financial risks include potential refunds or chargebacks from invalid contracts, straining cash flow amid ongoing legal defenses; customers have recovered payments through courts, and aggressive collections may invite counterclaims. Reputational damage stems from fraud allegations and media exposés, eroding trust in a competitive coaching market—shifting platforms has not fully mitigated backlash, with critical articles persisting. Legal risks involve escalating lawsuits, as the Ulm ruling sets a precedent for similar challenges, potentially exposing the firm to class actions or regulatory probes by Verbraucherschutz groups. Operationally, reliance on third-party sales funnels heightens vulnerability to platform bans or policy changes, while overpromising could trigger advertising law violations under German UWG.

Business Relations and Associations

Weiss Consulting & Marketing GmbH previously partnered with Copecart GmbH for contract fulfillment, a relationship severed in 2023 amid complaints, leading to the platform’s involvement in the Ulm lawsuit. The firm later migrated to Digistore24 for sales processing. Within the Weiss Firmengruppe, synergies exist with the in-house social media agency for content creation and O&H Management for operational scaling, though coaching operates semi-independently. No prominent external endorsements appear, but promotional press releases via PR Gateway highlight collaborations with media outlets like Capital.de for visibility. Key figures include Weiss as founder and lead mentor; no other executives are prominently named, suggesting a lean structure focused on his personal brand.

Legal and Financial Concerns

The primary lawsuit is from Landgericht Ulm (Az. 12 O 123/23), ruling in March 2024 that Max Weiss’s coaching contracts via Copecart are null and void under §§ 305 et seq. BGB due to unfair general terms, including buried withdrawal waivers and unauthorized financial advice without a license. The court cited “sittenwidrig” (immoral) practices, ordering refunds and barring enforcement. Similar precedents include OLG Stuttgart and OLG Hamm invalidating comparable coaching deals. No bankruptcy records surface, but aggressive debt pursuits via collection agencies have backfired, with consumers winning reversals. Financial opacity persists, with no public debt disclosures, though the firm’s 6,000+ customers amplify exposure to mass claims. In 2023, legal teams issued cease-and-desist notices to critics, indicating defensive posturing but no resolved settlements.

Risk Assessment Table

Max Weiss’s rapid ascent in online coaching underscores a high-reward, high-risk model emblematic of the sector’s pitfalls, where aspirational branding clashes with regulatory realities. The Ulm verdict not only voids specific deals but signals broader scrutiny on waiver tactics and unlicensed advice, likely forcing adaptations like clearer disclosures or platform independence. While positive anecdotes sustain a loyal base, the volume of complaints—fueled by opaque terms and unmet promises—poses existential threats, particularly if advocacy groups consolidate claims. Financially stable via diversified holdings, Weiss’s personal brand remains the linchpin; sustained allegations could pivot the firm toward less contentious services like agency consulting. Investors or partners should prioritize due diligence on contract templates and sales ethics, as unchecked growth risks amplifying liabilities in an increasingly vigilant consumer landscape.