Yeah, you know this bit. Many of us (too many really) has at least some kind of encounter in multi-level marketing (MLM) — whether through long-lost friends and relatives who suddenly contacted you, or you yourself have been involved in it for some (embarrassing) time.
Oh yes. Companies and Herbalife, WorldVentures, Amway International, (now dismantled) Sunshine Empire... the list goes on. What they have in common is the fact that each of their "sales agents" aggressively hunt for other salespeople to recruit, as they get compensated for both their own sales and the sales of their recruit. In other words, a pyramid scheme. Also, the cult-like techniques each of these brainwashed MLM drones utilise can be plain creepy.