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37 Unethical Growth Hacks used by Startups in their Early Days

A lot of big companies of today were absolutely SAVAGE in their early starting days when they were looking to grow quickly. It was absolutely necessary for them to do it, for them to expand more to globally dominate the market.

Tesla: Using aggressive tactics to push customers into buying.

Uber: Hiding softwares from regulators.

Facebook: Collecting and selling user data without permission.

WeWork: Overvaluing the company to get more investors.

Amazon: Lowering prices to destroy the market competition.

Airbnb: Creating fake listings to increase popularity.

Zenefits: Skipping legal requirements to grow faster.

Theranos: Lying about product details to get funding.

Instagram: Buying fake followers to seem more popular (Ironic yes lol).

Twitter: Creating fake accounts to increase user numbers.

Lyft: Offering drivers tips while secretly cutting pay.

Juicero: Misleading customers about product's taking care process.

Bird: Loading cities with scooters without proper permits.

Snapchat: Faking user engagement stats to attract advertisers.

Roku: Tracking user data and selling it without permission.

Myspace: Allowing spammy accounts to increase user base.

Fitbit: Manipulating health data to appear more accurate.

PayPal: Encouraging "scammy" transactions to boost volume.

Yelp: Pushing businesses to buy ads in exchange for positive reviews.

Spotify: Using fake creator accounts to reduce royalty payments.

Kickstarter: Promoting unrealistic projects to increase platform use.

LinkedIn: Spamming users’ contacts to grow its network.

Grubhub: Creating fake restaurant websites to capture more orders.

Groupon: Offering unsustainable deals that hurt small businesses.

Foursquare: Overstating user check-ins to attract advertisers.

Blue Apron: Misleading customers about subscription options.

Robinhood: Gamifying trading to increase risky investments.

DoorDash: Pocketing driver tips to pay less in wages.

Tinder: Using bots to simulate user interest.

Wish: Advertising fake discounts to drive sales.

Netflix: Lying about content availability to interest new people.

Postmates: Charging hidden fees without customer awareness.

ClassPass: Overwhelming places with unsustainable demand.

Lime: Leaving electric scooters in cities without permission.

Theranos: Faking demos (MVPs) to impress investors.

Zynga: Cloning popular games to steal revenue.

Pinterest: Creating fake accounts to boost user statistics.

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FounderShark!

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