Which one is a real business?
When entrepreneurs try to scale beyond what they can realistically handle, they are highly likely to rely on showmanship, deception, and manipulation.
In business, leveraging resources is essential to starting or operating a venture. As a result, it is sometimes very difficult to distinguish who the real entrepreneur is.
The effort to grow a business can lead to exaggerations about what it truly has or can achieve. Without some degree of deception or manipulation, sustaining a business may be very challenging. However, the business itself—or its owner—must have the capability to generate revenue or profit, even if the scale is below market expectations. If the owner lacks both the willingness and the capability to earn money while merely relying on leveraged partnerships, injected funds, or outsourced technologies, we call it "fraud."
History shows how difficult it can be at times to distinguish between legitimate business activities and fraudulent ones. Some businessmen and deceivers have blurred the line between genuine entrepreneurship and fraud.
One of the most famous cases is Jordan Belfort (The Wolf of Wall Street). He built a massive financial empire through deceptive sales tactics, demonstrating how a high-pressure environment can easily lead to unethical actions and consequences.
More recently, Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos became one of the most infamous examples. She founded a company claiming revolutionary blood-testing technology, which ultimately turned out to be entirely fraudulent.
Now we find ourselves in a challenging period for businesses—and even for daily life—where most market participants are fearful of an impending recession or similar chaos. Many investors and entrepreneurs currently hold conservative views on businesses and new investments. However, several months from now or next year, the atmosphere may shift in favor of investment as part of the next wave of wealth competition. When that happens, we will once again see the blurred line between genuine entrepreneurship and fraud.
This post was also published on Medium on March 31, 2025, by the same author.
Posted Using INLEO