How to know if you are being recruited to a pyramid scheme…
And how to get out of it
*Disclaimer: If you are well aware of how pyramid schemes recruit then this will seem like common sense to you. This is for people who are unaware*
Don’t get me wrong, pyramids are great.
The Great Pyramids of Giza. Maslov’s Hierarchy of Needs. The Food Group Pyramid.
These are some iconic pyramids!
But you know what’s not iconic?!
Pyramid schemes.
And if you are a young, driven person, you may be lucky enough to get targeted by a pyramid scheme recruiter.
Here’s how it happened to me.
How it Starts
There I was. Young, dumb and full of ambition.
Sitting at a coffee shop. Reading some self-help bullsh*t personal development book.
A nice man approaches. He asks about the book. Says it’s one of his favorites.
He is super friendly and has a trustworthy glimmer in his eye.
He says he’s also into reading.
It seems like we have a lot in common.
He tells me that he got super lucky last year and found a “mentor” that took him under his wing.
This should’ve been red flag #1 (schemers love saying “mentor”).
But I didn’t know that yet.
Foolishly, I doubled down and kept asking questions.
He tells me that his mentor might have some extra room to take on new mentees.
How perfect is that?
I agree to meet this guy the next day for coffee to discuss a potential introduction with Mr. Magical Mentor Man.
This is how it always starts. It’s not always a coffee shop. It might be a book store. Or the gym. Or anywhere where young, driven people hang out.
But it’s usually a conversation that seems spontaneous. And it always leads to another meeting.
The Meeting
It’s the next day. Meeting day!
I’m fired up. Today I learn if I this Magical Mentor Man will take me under his wing or not.
I pull up to this coffee shop, full of energy, ready to get scammed (kidding).
As I arrive, I see my new best friend with headphones on, deeply focused, slightly mumbling to himself.
It almost looks as if he’s listening to and rehearsing scripts (foreshadowing).
I ask him what he’s listening to. He panics and says “nothing.”
Sus.
This is when I started to have second thoughts about the legitimacy of Mr. Magical Mentor Man.
We begin chatting and this man salt & peppers me with a bunch of different questions.
He needs to “make sure I am committed” to this mentorship.
I answer all his questions. He tells me I’m super smart and wise for my age.
His flattery goes straight to my head. I’m hooked again. This guy is awesome.
Who cares if he was practicing lines before our meeting?! At least he thinks I’m smart.
At the end of the meeting he tells me I’ve got to do one more thing before he can introduce me to his mentor.
In my head I’m thinking “Tell me I’m smart again and I will literally do anything.”
He says I’ve got to read a book to show my commitment to this process.
And get this.
I have to read it in one day.
One day? I can count the number of books I’ve completed in one day on zero fingers.
Nonetheless, I tell him “No problem. I’ll have it done by tomorrow.”
We kiss and part ways.
^That was a joke.
The Book
Now I’m sure you are wondering, “What is this mysterious book you need to read to unlock this Magical Mystery Man’s love?”
Here’s the book.
It’s called The Business Of The 21st Century by Robert Kiyosaki.
Basically, it’s a book that vouches for a business model called “network marketing” which is a sexy way of saying MLM (multi-level marketing) or pyramid scheme.
I went and parked my ass in the library to begin this marathon of reading.
I get about 50 pages into this book and think to myself “I’m getting recruited to a pyramid scheme.”
It hit me like a ton of bricks. Bricks used to build pyramids.
I Googled “the business of the 21st century pyramid scheme reddit”
Reddit always has the answers.
I found this result.
Basically, a bunch of people explaining how they’ve had THE EXACT same experience as me.
At this moment, I was sure that I would never meet Mr. Magical Mentor Man.
I stopped reading.
I’ll be honest, I was pissed.
I felt stupid.
I consider myself a smart young man, and I felt like I got manipulated.
After pacing around the library a bit, I needed to decide how to handle my big meeting the next day.
Here were the options I came up with:
Not show up. (Lame)
Get super pissed and yell at him in public (not in my nature)
Try to trap him in his throne of lies
Join the pyramid scheme (seems like a good opportunity)
I chose option 3.
The Confrontation
I hate confrontation.
Never been good at it.
So instead of coming in hot. I came in cold.
Cold & curious.
My plan was to just keep asking questions until he admitted he was trying to recruit me to a pyramid scheme.
The meeting started like the last. He was sitting there listening to Pyramid Scheme Radio when I approached.
I said “Listening to silence again?”
He chuckles.
He asks if I had finished the book.
I said, “Yeah, I actually wanted to talk about it.”
I put on my interrogation hat and started hurling my questions at him.
“So, how is what this book is explaining not a pyramid scheme?”
“What, specifically, does your mentor do for work?”
“What is your mentors name?”
“Am I the first person you’ve talked to about this opportunity?”
And many more like that.
Each question was met with a mixture of excitement and backpedaling.
He had trained for this. This was his Super Bowl.
While his answers were well-rehearsed, they were also super vague and totally dodged the meat of the questions.
Ultimately, I just had to say, “Look man, I’m really just not interested. Thanks for your time spent scamming me though.”
I stood up and walked towards the exit.
Just before exiting, I looked back over my shoulder and said “Send me that silence playlist though.”
I winked and then left.
Here’s What to Look For
All jokes aside, pyramid schemes are whack and I wouldn’t want you to have to ever waste your time like I did.
So here’s some things to look for if you ever feel like you might be caught up in someone trying to pyramid scheme you.
Look for:
Vague explanations. Never really giving you concrete information.
Scripted answers. It may seem like they’ve given certain answers many times before. It’s because they have.
Always pushing for the next meeting. They are working you down a funnel.
If it seems too good to be true. You might think to yourself: “Why are they so intrertested in me? What makes me qualified for this opportunity if it’s so good?” Red flags.
If they use tactics that force urgency or make you feel like you are missing out on an amazing, time-sensitive opportunity. Classic sales tactics.
Wrap Up
Hopefully this blog was informative and gave you a chuckle at least once. Thanks for reading! One day soon I’m going to be a very famous writer so it’s cool that you are here so early.
I’m up to 122 subscribers which is sweet!
Let’s see if I can get to 1,000 by Christmas.
If you’ve had any experiences like the one I described, shoot me an email!
Until next time,
Flickman