If you’ve been in the online business space for more than a few years, you’ve probably heard of Sam Ovens. He was one of the original “consulting gurus” — the guy who convinced a generation of aspiring entrepreneurs that starting a consulting business was their ticket to financial freedom.
But Sam Ovens in 2026 looks very different from Sam Ovens in 2018. He sold Consulting.com, abandoned his podcast after three episodes, refunded his entire mastermind, and went all-in on building Skool — a community platform now used by thousands of course creators and coaches.
Then Iman Gadzhi bought Consulting.com.
There’s a lot to unpack here. So let’s break down who Sam Ovens is, what he actually built, what happened to Consulting.com, what Skool is, and whether any of it can help you make money in 2026.
First though — if you’re researching gurus and want to skip straight to what I’d actually build, here’s the short version.
What I Build Instead of Consulting
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Now — the full Sam Ovens breakdown.
Who Is Sam Ovens?
Sam Ovens is a New Zealand-born entrepreneur who moved to New York in 2015 to scale his businesses. Born in 1989, he studied at the University of Auckland before dropping out to pursue entrepreneurship full-time.
His first notable business was SnapInspect, a property inspection software app. It gained some traction in New Zealand but had high operating costs and limited scalability. When Sam realised his side consulting work was generating more revenue than the software, he sold SnapInspect and went all-in on consulting.
That pivot changed everything.
Sam started teaching others how to start consulting businesses — first through one-on-one coaching, then through group programs, and eventually through a structured online course. This became Consulting.com, which by his own account generated over $100 million in total revenue and served students in 36+ countries.
His flagship course, the Consulting Accelerator, sold for around $2,000 and taught people how to pick a niche, acquire clients through Facebook ads, and scale a consulting business. He also ran a higher-tier Quantum Mastermind that cost significantly more.
At his peak, Ovens was living in a Manhattan penthouse, driving luxury cars, and producing the kind of polished YouTube content that made him one of the most visible figures in the online consulting education space.
What Happened to Consulting.com?
This is the part of the story most people are curious about. In January 2023, Sam Ovens sold Consulting.com to Rian Doris, a former student from his mastermind. At the same time, he refunded every single member of his Quantum Mastermind and cancelled his new podcast after filming just three episodes.
In a YouTube video explaining the decision, Sam said he wanted to go all-in on Skool. Consulting.com was a cash cow, but it required constant attention — coaching calls, content updates, customer support. Skool, on the other hand, was a software platform with far greater scale potential and less ongoing operational overhead per customer.
The move was classic Sam Ovens: decisive to the point of being jarring. Most entrepreneurs wouldn’t walk away from a business generating millions per year. But Sam clearly believed the ceiling on Skool was orders of magnitude higher.
Then Iman Gadzhi Bought It
In July 2025, Iman Gadzhi — the British entrepreneur behind Educate.io, GrowYourAgency, and one of the largest personal brands in online education — announced that he had acquired Consulting.com. He shared the news on Twitter and Instagram, describing it as the completion of “part two of the trilogy.”
So the ownership chain goes: Sam Ovens → Rian Doris (January 2023) → Iman Gadzhi (July 2025).
Under Gadzhi, Consulting.com has been rebranded and repositioned. It now operates as a high-ticket program focused on helping entrepreneurs launch and scale info product businesses, leveraging Gadzhi’s team and infrastructure. The current flagship offering is the Quantum program, which combines consulting, community, and coaching under the Consulting.com brand.
This means if you’re looking at Consulting.com today, you’re essentially buying into Iman Gadzhi’s ecosystem, not Sam Ovens’ original course. The Consulting Accelerator as Sam built it no longer exists in its original form.
What Is Skool?
Skool is Sam Ovens’ current and primary business. He co-founded it with Daniel Kang in 2019 and reportedly spent over $700,000 per month on development before it gained significant traction.
Skool is a community platform that combines online courses, community forums, gamification elements (leaderboards), and a calendar — essentially replacing the need for separate tools like Kajabi, Facebook Groups, Google Calendar, and email software.
The pricing is simple: $99/month per community. Community creators can charge their members whatever they want (or make their community free), and Skool takes its cut through the platform fee.
The Skool Games
One of the biggest growth drivers for Skool has been the Skool Games — a competition where community creators compete for cash prizes based on member growth. Alex Hormozi partnered with Sam Ovens on this initiative, bringing his massive audience to the platform. Hormozi also took a minority stake in Skool in late 2024.
The Skool Games have been controversial. Critics point out that the competition incentivises rapid member acquisition, which can feel like a recruitment-based model. Creators earn a 40% recurring commission when their members go on to create their own paid Skool communities, which adds a referral layer that some compare to MLM structures.
Supporters counter that Skool provides genuine value to both creators and community members, and that the referral model is simply smart business, no different from any other affiliate programme.
Is Skool Good?
From a product perspective, Skool is well-built. It’s fast, clean, and significantly simpler than competing platforms like Kajabi, Teachable, or Circle. For someone launching their first community or course, the simplicity is appealing.
The limitations are real though: no built-in video hosting (you need Vimeo, YouTube, or Loom), a 2,000-character limit on course descriptions, and fewer customisation options than more established platforms. But for the $99/month price point, it’s competitive.
Sam Ovens’ Programs: What Was Actually Taught
Since Sam’s original courses are no longer available in their original form, this section is partly historical. But it’s worth covering because many people still search for Sam Ovens reviews based on his older programs.
Consulting Accelerator (~$2,000)
The Consulting Accelerator was Sam’s bread-and-butter program. It taught a straightforward process:
- Pick a specific niche (e.g., helping dentists get more patients)
- Build an offer around solving a clear problem for that niche
- Use Facebook ads to generate leads
- Close clients through a structured sales call process
- Deliver results through consulting, coaching, or done-for-you services
- Scale by adding team members and systems
The course was well-structured and the core methodology was sound. The consulting model itself — picking a niche, generating leads, closing clients — is a proven path to income. Many successful consultants credit the Consulting Accelerator as their starting point.
Quantum Mastermind ($10,000+)
The Quantum Mastermind was Sam’s premium offering for established consultants looking to scale past six or seven figures. It included direct access to Sam, small group coaching, and advanced scaling strategies.
When Sam sold Consulting.com, he refunded every Quantum member — a move that was unusual in the industry and generally well-received by members, even if it left some feeling abandoned.
UpLevel Consulting
A more recent program under the Consulting.com umbrella that focused on building subscription-based businesses. This was developed during the transition period and reflected Sam’s evolving thinking about recurring revenue models.
The Consulting Business Model: A Realistic Assessment
Since Sam Ovens is synonymous with the online consulting model, let’s evaluate the model itself — independent of any specific course.
Why Consulting Works (In Theory)
The consulting model has genuine advantages, especially for beginners:
Low startup costs. You don’t need inventory, equipment, or a physical location. A laptop, internet connection, and a Zoom account are your primary tools.
High margins. Consulting is essentially selling your expertise and time. There’s no cost of goods, no shipping, no warehousing. Margins can be 80-90%+.
Fast to revenue. Unlike e-commerce or content businesses that take months to build, you can potentially land your first consulting client within weeks if you hustle.
Skill building. Even if consulting doesn’t become your forever business, the skills you develop — sales, client management, problem-solving, marketing — are transferable to virtually any other business.
Income ceiling. B2B consultants charging $2,000-$10,000+/month per client can reach six figures with a handful of clients.
Why Consulting Is Harder Than Gurus Make It Sound
Client acquisition never stops. The number one challenge for independent consultants is consistently finding new clients. Sam’s course taught Facebook ads for lead generation, which works but requires ongoing ad spend. When you stop advertising, leads dry up.
You’re trading time for money. Unless you build a team or productise your service, consulting income requires your ongoing presence. Take a holiday, and income drops. Get sick, and income drops.
The “pick a niche” problem. Sam taught students to pick a niche and position themselves as specialists. Sounds simple, but choosing the right niche — one with businesses willing to pay and problems you can actually solve — requires market knowledge that most beginners don’t have.
Scope creep and difficult clients. Real consulting involves managing client expectations, dealing with scope changes, and handling people who are unhappy with results. The course makes it sound like you close the deal and cash the cheque. The reality involves a lot more ongoing work.
Saturation in obvious niches. After years of consulting courses flooding the market, the obvious niches (marketing for dentists, leads for real estate agents, social media for restaurants) are overcrowded with consultants who all learned from the same YouTube videos.
The Consulting Model Scorecard
| Factor | Score |
|---|---|
| Startup cost | Low ($0-$500) |
| Time to first income | Fast (weeks) |
| Income ceiling | High ($100K-$500K+/year) |
| Scalability | Moderate (limited by your time without a team) |
| Passive income potential | Low (active work required) |
| Risk level | Low financial risk, high time risk |
| Skill required | Sales ability and niche expertise |
What People Say About Sam Ovens
Reviews for Sam Ovens and his programs are genuinely mixed.
Positive reviews consistently highlight the quality of his teaching, the clarity of his frameworks, and the fact that his methods actually work when implemented. Many students report landing their first consulting client within weeks of completing the Consulting Accelerator. Sam’s analytical, systems-thinking approach appeals to people who want structure rather than hype.
Negative reviews focus on several issues. The courses were expensive. The marketing used aggressive Facebook ad funnels and high-pressure webinar tactics. Some students felt the income claims in the marketing didn’t match reality for the average student. And the abrupt exit — selling the company, refunding the mastermind, disappearing from the coaching space — left some people feeling like Sam prioritised his own interests over his students’.
Trustpilot ratings for Consulting.com show mixed results, though it’s worth noting that many reviews may predate the ownership changes.
| Factor | Rating |
|---|---|
| Course quality (original Consulting Accelerator) | 8/10 |
| Value for money | 6/10 |
| Beginner friendliness | 6/10 |
| Business model viability (consulting) | 8/10 |
| Current relevance (Sam’s original courses) | 4/10 — courses no longer available as-is |
| Skool (as a platform) | 7/10 |
SEC Settlement and Controversies
Sam Ovens himself hasn’t faced SEC issues, but his marketing style drew criticism over the years for aggressive tactics typical of the “guru” space — inflated income claims, high-pressure webinars, and Facebook ad funnels that played on people’s desire for financial freedom.
The more substantive criticism is philosophical: Sam’s courses taught people to start consulting businesses, and many of those “consulting businesses” were essentially other people selling courses about consulting. The recursive nature of the online education space — where gurus teach people to become gurus who teach people to become gurus — is a valid concern that extends well beyond Sam Ovens.
Should You Buy Consulting.com in 2026?
Here’s the honest reality: Consulting.com in 2026 is Iman Gadzhi’s product, not Sam Ovens’. If you’re interested in Consulting.com today, read our Iman Gadzhi review for a current assessment of what you’d actually be buying.
If you’re interested in Sam Ovens specifically, your options are:
- Skool ($99/month) — if you want to build and monetise a community
- Sam’s YouTube channel — free content where he occasionally shares business insights
- His books and older content — available but no longer actively supported with coaching
Can the Consulting Model Still Work?
Absolutely. The fundamental model Sam taught — pick a niche, solve a specific problem, acquire clients through targeted marketing — is as sound as ever. In fact, it’s arguably more accessible in 2026 with AI tools reducing the cost and complexity of marketing, content creation, and service delivery.
But you don’t need Sam’s course to implement it. The core framework is available for free across hundreds of YouTube videos and blog posts.
My Verdict on Sam Ovens
Sam Ovens is one of the more legitimate figures in the online education space. He built real businesses, taught a sound methodology, and had the conviction to burn the ships and pivot when he saw a bigger opportunity. That takes genuine entrepreneurial instinct.
That said, his programs are no longer available in their original form, and Consulting.com under Iman Gadzhi is a completely different product. If you’re evaluating Sam Ovens in 2026, you’re really evaluating whether the consulting model is right for you — not whether his specific course is worth buying.
The consulting model works, but it requires sales ability, consistent client acquisition, and ongoing service delivery. It’s essentially trading time for money at a higher rate, which is a step up from employment but not true passive income.
If you want to build something that generates recurring income without constant client work — an actual digital asset that pays you whether you’re working or not — there’s a model I’ve seen outperform consulting for most beginners.
Frequently Asked Questions About Sam Ovens
Is Sam Ovens legit?
Yes. Sam Ovens built Consulting.com from scratch to over $100 million in total revenue, then sold it to pursue Skool — a community platform that’s now one of the fastest-growing in its space. His business track record is more substantive than most people in the online education space.
Who owns Consulting.com now?
As of mid-2025, Iman Gadzhi owns Consulting.com. Sam Ovens originally sold it to Rian Doris in January 2023, and Gadzhi acquired it from Doris in July 2025. The current Consulting.com program reflects Gadzhi’s methodology and team, not Sam’s original Consulting Accelerator.
Is the Consulting Accelerator still available?
Not in its original form. When Sam sold Consulting.com, the original Consulting Accelerator was discontinued. The current Consulting.com offering under Iman Gadzhi (called Quantum) is a different program with different content, pricing, and structure.
What is Sam Ovens doing now?
Sam Ovens is the CEO of Skool, the community platform he co-founded with Daniel Kang. He’s focused full-time on building Skool into a major platform for online education and community building. He occasionally posts on YouTube but has largely stepped back from the guru/coaching space.
Is Skool worth $99 per month?
For community creators who want an all-in-one solution (courses, community, calendar, gamification), Skool offers good value at $99/month. It’s simpler than competitors like Kajabi ($149-$399/month) or Circle ($89-$219/month). However, it lacks some features like native video hosting and has customisation limitations. For the price, it’s competitive.
How much did Sam Ovens’ courses cost?
The Consulting Accelerator cost approximately $2,000. The Quantum Mastermind was $10,000+. These programs are no longer available in their original form.
Can I still learn Sam Ovens’ consulting method for free?
The core principles Sam taught — niche selection, offer creation, Facebook ads for lead generation, and sales call frameworks — are widely available on YouTube and various blogs. His specific course structure is no longer available, but the underlying methodology has been shared and adapted by countless creators.
Is the consulting model still viable in 2026?
Absolutely. The fundamentals haven’t changed: identify a niche, develop expertise, acquire clients, deliver value. The tools have improved (AI can help with marketing, content creation, and service delivery), and remote consulting is now fully normalised. The model works, but it requires sales ability and consistent effort to maintain client flow.
Did Sam Ovens scam anyone?
There’s no evidence of fraud or scamming. His courses were real, delivered as advertised, and many students reported positive results. Criticisms centred on aggressive marketing tactics, overpromised results, and the abrupt exit when he sold the company. When he left, he refunded his entire mastermind — a move that, while disruptive, was financially generous.
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Mark is the founder of MarksInsights and has spent 15+ years testing online business programs and tools. He focuses on honest, experience-based reviews that help people avoid scams and find real, sustainable ways to make money online.