The Hustle Culture is Alluring People into Pyramid Schemes
The Offer
The other day I was approached by a LinkedIn member, who mentioned they liked my profile. They offered to introduce me to an “educational process” which would potentially grant me a spot on a “mentorship program” that would guide me into achieving my own financial freedom. Since I was looking for an opportunity, this description, although vague, got my attention. I proceeded to ask for further details. None of my questions were properly addressed, instead, I was told to join a Zoom call, in order to obtain the information I was looking for. (Note: at this point, I still did not know the name of the company or the educational process).
My curiosity pushed me to accept this invitation and I proceeded with the call the following week. The meeting started well, the person I spoke to was of a similar age to me, and spoke in a friendly manner. I was asked a couple of questions on my thoughts on money, mentorship and how interested I was in building multiple income streams. While I shared my ideas, the person spoke passionately on how they followed the same educational process and has now developed their own business through the mentorship from a “couple who retired in their 20’s.” A majority of the conversation was them explaining the importance of hustling while we’re young, in order to achieve our financial targets.
The Toxicity Behind the “Hustle”
First let’s take a quick moment to discuss the hustle culture. The culture has definitely motivated and inspired many individuals to achieve their dreams through hard work, and therefore has its benefits.
However, it has been taken too far. It is increasingly being used as a strategy of manipulation and guilt. Nowadays, young individuals feel immense levels of guilt for enjoying simple luxuries in their life, such as spending their weekends with friends or family, having an occasional meal out or buying the new pair of sneakers they have been wanting. The hustle culture claims that by doing these things, you are wasting time and money that you could have spent on building your business or your wealth.
My call continued with repetition of how I would be wasting my life by pursuing a 9–5 job, and how the only sensible way forward was to start a business through mentorship, (even though they were reluctant to say what their business was.) After all the financial freedom talk, I decided to be more straight forward with my questions.
That’s when it reached a whole new level of bizarre.
Naturally, after an hour long call of still not hearing the details of this offer, I wanted to know the name of the company at least. “What is the name of the company?” I asked this three times. The first time, I was told they work in the industry of “information age and network assets.” Knowing very well that this is not a legitimate industry, I asked the second time. This time I was given a long explanation of how we need patience if we want to be properly educated. Slightly fed up, I asked the third time, to which I was told the company was “credible” and could only give out details after 6–7 sessions of the educational process.
Surely, if someone is this reluctant to share basic information of what is described to be a “credible” company, it presents several warning signs.
Observing my frustration, they eventually muttered the company name so rapidly, but I was able to catch it. It was clear that revealing the name was definitely not allowed to happen in this call, as they knew we could research it.
Of course, after the call, I proceeded with my investigation. I saw a couple of Reddit posts about people who encountered the same experience as me. They actually completed this so-called “educational process” only to find out they had entered a pyramid scheme. This company follows the same structure as other known pyramid schemes such as Amway or Herbalife.
The Reality of the Pyramid Scheme
To simplify it, the way these schemes work is by recruiting individuals who become Independent Business Owners (IBO’s) for the company. Essentially, they act as distributors who sell the company’s products, and keep some of the profit. To increase their income, they are promised a commission of some sorts, by recruiting more people. Those people end up following the same pattern, hence forming the pyramid. Whoever is on top, benefits the most, and the people working for the company, claim they have their “own business.” The “network assets” that were mentioned basically refers to the network you build by recruiting more people to gain more commission. These companies often disguise themselves as Multi-Level Marketing businesses due to the stigma associated with pyramid schemes. Yet, it is the same process.
In reality, there is a reason why pyramid schemes are banned in so many countries; it is a form of financial fraud.
My issue is not with the existence of pyramid schemes itself. My issue is with how they are manipulating so many young individuals into joining them. With the increasing popularity of the hustle culture, these schemes now are using the concept to convince people that this is their path to financial liberation. The idea of owning a business has become the goal for so many people, so when they are offered a “mentorship” to start their own business? It sounds like a ticket to success!
The Trap
Ever since my experience and my research into pyramid schemes, I have noticed so many more LinkedIn members approach me with a very similar speech . They seem to all use the story of being “mentored by a couple who retired in their 20's,” yet none of them had the company mentioned in their profiles.
The day after my call, I actually received a message saying I was not the right fit for this mentorship program. The reason was because I was not “patient” enough to find out the company information. In other words, they knew I had already figured out this was a pyramid scheme!
The hustle culture is toxic enough for this generation. It puts a lot of pressure on people to exert themselves beyond their limits. The pressures have accelerated with Covid-19 drastically reducing the amount of employment opportunities. The fear of failure creates vulnerability, a personality trait that pyramid schemes chase. People get excited by the ‘get rich quick’ idea, not knowing what they are actually joining - only to end up spending their days on LinkedIn, deceiving other individuals just to convince them to join the exact same scheme they can’t get out of.
Yes of course, some people may be happy working in these organisations and comfortable with the job they are doing.
If you are a young individual looking for opportunities like I was, continue to use the positivity associated with the hustle, and continue to work hard to reach your goals.
But just remember, if you get approached by someone who shares a similar story of how you can achieve financial freedom, well, ask them for the name of the organisation they are representing. If they hide it, you will know straight away!
