This is my honest, first-hand account of dealing with JP Middleton, who presents himself as the owner and founder of StartGrowSell.ai and GymMembersNow. Everything below is what I personally experienced, and the dated emails that back it up are on the Proof page. Where I give my opinion, I say so plainly.
How it started
I run an AI SEO agency. I first came across JP Middleton through GymMembersNow, one of his brands; he also presents himself as the founder and owner of StartGrowSell.ai, based in the Louisville, Kentucky area. I reached out because I was genuinely interested in a partnership — I believed I had something real to offer his network, and I wanted to show him. From the start, the process was built around his terms, which was fine by me; I took it seriously.
On June 12, he emailed me to "make sure, before the call, you watch this YouTube video so you know exactly what we will be discussing, so we do not waste any time," along with a second video of someone he said he works with. I confirmed and thanked him. On June 13 he asked whether I currently have an AI agency. On June 14 I sent him one of our recent webinars so he'd know exactly who he was dealing with, and explained that we're an AI SEO agency now developing AI CRO techniques that overlap with what he offers.
The qualifying
Later on June 14 he asked me, directly, "How many customers do you have? What market do you operate in? What is MRR?" Reasonable questions, and I was happy to answer them. Then on June 17 he laid out his terms more bluntly: he was "only interested in partnering with people who offer substantial leverage I do not currently have" — connections, money to invest, a personal brand, or an already-built agency — and added that if that wasn't me, "then this would be a relationship in which you pay me to build an agency just like mine."
I came in as a potential partner with real leverage to offer. I left feeling like I'd been put through a filter and then dropped.
I answered that directly. On the morning of June 18, I told him plainly what I bring: over 3,000 live clients in our network, eight years in the Vendasta marketplace alongside thousands of other resellers, and a live demo I was ready to give him that day. I said I believed that once he saw it, he'd know I was one of the partners he actually needed. I also reminded him I'd done my part: "Did you watch the webinar I sent over? I spent hours watching many of your videos, FYI."
Meeting day
Before the call there was a reminder to watch a "mandatory pre-call training video." I'd already put in the hours. I joined the meeting on time, ready to present.
What I found was that there was already another client in the room, and then I was removed from the call. The link would no longer let me rejoin. At 2:05 PM I wrote to say exactly that: "I was on time for the meeting but I saw you guys had another client in the room. It will no longer allow me to join back in on this link as I was removed."
The StartGrowSell.ai website, for the record, had never loaded for me at any point — it returned a 403 Forbidden error throughout. At 2:20 PM I emailed about it again: "JP, hello? Your website says 403 forbidden, FYI. Let me know, as I spent hours watching some of your videos prepping for this meeting with you."
The silence
That's where it ended. After all the prep he required, after I showed up on time and laid out exactly what I could offer, I was removed from my own scheduled meeting and then met with a broken website and no meaningful reply. In my opinion, that's not how you treat someone you invited to the table and asked to prepare.
What I make of it — my opinion
I want to be careful and fair here, because these are my views, not verdicts. It left me genuinely asking whether this is a fully operational business: the root startgrowsell.ai domain returned a 403 during our dealings and, as of publishing, still doesn't load normally for me (a separate storefront at shop.startgrowsell.ai does load). I'll let you weigh that yourself. You can also look at his own public profiles — YouTube and LinkedIn — and form your own opinion.
I'm not telling you not to work with JP Middleton. I'm telling you what happened to me, showing you the emails, and suggesting you go in with your eyes open and confirm things for yourself before you invest your time or your money.
This account reflects my personal experience and honest opinion. The supporting emails are reproduced on the Proof page in chronological order. This site is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by JP Middleton or StartGrowSell.ai.