A pyramid scheme is a fraudulent business model premised on recruiting an ever-increasing number of investors whose fees and commissions are passed up the pyramid to earlier investors. Founders will recruit a few early investors whose return on investment depends on their ability to recruit more investors. This cycle of recruitment to profit repeats until eventually there’s no one left willing to join the “business” and the scheme implodes. “Investments” often include membership fees and the money new recruits pay for products they expect to resell.