“Joe [Occhiogrosso] and I began with the company in February of 2010, starting out by lining up Associates in New Jersey before we even had a product to offer,” Marone said, noting that the pair first met when they worked together in the foreign exchange currency market on Wall Street.

The duo joined Viridian during a pre-launch phase in their local market. Since they were not able to enroll local customers in Jersey Central Power & Light until August of that year, they had their work cut out for them. But hard work and determination paid off, starting with unprecedented customer growth in their markets, continuing as they quickly rose through the ranks once they began, and now today as they are being named this month as the company’s first Platinum Ambassadors.

Asked what it felt like to hit that pinnacle, Marone gave a short history of where he’d been, to get to where he is now. “Joe and I, along with three-time Super Bowl champion Bart Oates, have owned a title insurance company in New Jersey for the last seven years. We were driving that business, but then the economy hit us hard,” he said. “Up until Viridian came along we were holding on by a thread, and I was dipping into my credit line just to pay my bills. So coming aboard, I had to believe that this was going to pay off big time when we got there. My joining Viridian probably saved my house.”

After his initial meeting with the corporate team, Marone was sold. “We knew that green was going to be big, and we knew network marketing was going to be big,” he said. “Then, when you factor in that you can start getting residual income on top of it, we knew it was going to be huge! Unlike other products you might try to sell via network marketing, we knew that with electricity for less, we had the perfect product and the perfect vehicle to market it.”

Marone and Occhiogrosso set about building their teams, lining up associates and spreading the word. It’s evidence of their hard work and determination that they grew as quickly as they did.

“The Viridian model was the perfect storm for business success,” Marone said. “As soon as we got involved, we knew it. Over the last year, while still keeping the title insurance business, we focused our efforts on Viridian Energy.”

For Marone, success in this business depends largely on your ability to help your team succeed, and to make it simple for them to do so.

“The main thing is that if you can’t duplicate what you’re doing, you won’t succeed. What I mean by that is there’s a process you need to be able to duplicate,” he said. “People down your line need to be able to do what you’re doing. To be a leader you must focus on your goals. Teaching your Associates the business and training them is key.”

Marone added that he believes in ‘Walking the walk.’ “You also have to believe in what you’re doing,” he said. “When you talk to people about Viridian and all it offers, if they don’t feel the passion from you they’ll walk away. But if you have that belief, that’s what they want to get involved in. It all comes down to your work ethic.”

While his current income provides a lot of his personal security, Marone said it’s equally important to him that his team succeeds as well. “The money is the main driver of what I do, but the satisfaction in seeing people we’ve brought in become successful and set themselves up for life is a big part of it, too,” he noted. “Right now I’m making good money. Now I want to start banking that so I have retirement money as well.”

But for Frank Marone, it’s not all about the Benjamins. “My family has always been my Why,” he said. “I want things in my life for my kids that I couldn’t get when I was growing up. I come from a family of modest means, and we lived a moderate life. Now I want to be able to take my family away on vacations, and hopefully spend more time together with them.”

Still, Marone’s not resting on his laurels, and has big plans for the future. “My goal is to make a million dollars a month. Is that reachable?” he asked. “Maybe I’m crazy, but if you don’t dream you’ll never get what you want.”