York County man inches toward millions with Walmart, Jet deal

If this were a race, Eric Martin would be near the finish line.

The prize? That's the million dollar question. Or maybe the $10 million question.

Last year, the York Township man won a competition to get people to sign up for Jet.com, an online retailer that sells everything from household goods and groceries to electronics and furniture.

Martin spent $18,000 to advertise on websites such as Swagbucks and Gifthulk, a strategy that netted him the top prize, 100,000 shares of Jet stock options.

Jet never went public, though. Rather, Wal-mart Stores Inc. bought Jet this week in a $3.3 billion deal, and now Martin stands to gain an untold sum of money.

It's difficult to know how much Martin's 100,000 stock options are worth. Martin declined to say, and Walmart hasn't made any filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission indicating their value.

A 2015 estimate from Fusion.net valued Martin's Jet options at somewhere between $10 million and $20 million, though that was more than a year before the Walmart deal. Walmart will report quarterly earnings on Aug. 18, so there could be some additional information soon.

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The 30-year-old, who works in digital marketing for Bath Fitter, carved out some time during his lunch break this week to talk about the deal.

"It's been kind of a shock," Martin said. "I just laugh about the whole situation."

To be clear: Jet hasn't paid Martin a single penny yet, Martin said. When he won the contest, he got a contract that said he could get the shares when Jet went public or would get some kind of compensation when the company was sold.

Martin will believe he's rich when he sees it in his bank account. However, the signs are pointing to an imminent windfall, he said.

Meanwhile, Martin has received a flurry of calls from national news organizations in the past two days. In addition, his social media accounts have exploded with friend requests and messages, including messages from Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.

Martin also has met with Jet founder Marc Lore, and said he has an open invitation to talk shop anytime. Lore even emailed to congratulate Martin on his most recent venture, a two-month-old crowdfunding website, ideaDash.com, that pairs people's business ideas with investors and planners who can actually make the ideas a reality.

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The 2010 York College graduate has also sparked local interest. Jeff Vermeulen, executive director of the J.D. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship at York College, said he's interested in talking to Martin about the possibility that ideaDash could be housed at the center's small-business incubator.

"He's an alumnus," Vermeulen said. "He's in our community. He's certainly demonstrated stick-to-itiveness and business savvy."

Martin has no specific plans yet for how he'll make use of that business savvy if and when he gets the money. He said he certainly doesn't plan to retire.

Politics could always be an option. Martin ran for Congress in the 2012 Republican primary and lost overwhelmingly to Scott Perry, R-Carroll Township. Though Martin hasn't ruled out running again for public office, he said that wouldn't happen anytime soon.

For now, his life still centers around his family and his Christian faith.

With or without his millions, he said he hopes it stays that way. "My goal, my hope, is that I put God first."