Insights from the Modern MBA episode “Why MLMs Eat Themselves Alive”, published June 28, 2026.
Multi-level marketing companies are not product businesses; they are recruitment engines that externalize sales costs onto an unpaid, commission-only workforce. When the product loses its competitive moat, the company inevitably devolves into a pyramid scheme, relying on inventory loading and predatory recruitment to survive until the inevitable collapse.
Topics: MLM, Business Strategy, Retail, Pyramid Schemes, Economics