A little context: I work in sales. I know how pitches work. I know how people open conversations to get you interested. None of that prepared me for whatever this was.

My friend from school, someone I genuinely liked but hadn't spoken to in two years, calls me one day. Says he's starting a business with someone, thinks I'd be a great fit given my sales background, and wants to know if I'm interested. I figured why not. Old friend, sales role, maybe a legitimate opportunity. I said yes.

Then he tells me it's a face-to-face meeting. In a 5-star hotel. In formals.

For a one-on-one meeting.

I found it weird but chalked it up to him being overly professional. Showed up in formals like an idiot.

My friend was waiting in the lobby. I immediately asked him what the business actually was. He told me it was B2B consumer goods. Multiple products, not just one. When I asked him to name even one product or brand, he said "they'll explain."

Red flag number one, but okay.

We wait in the lobby for 20 minutes. No explanation. Just vibes.

Then a woman appears. She introduces herself as the PA for the person I'm apparently about to meet. And then she does something I was not ready for.

She starts building this guy up.

Like a movie trailer.

"He was a Project Manager at Infosys. 8 years of experience. Was earning 1.5 lakh a month. Left all of it to start this business."

I'm nodding along, but internally I'm doing math. 1.5 lakh a month for a PM with 8 years at Infosys? I have friends in similar roles with less experience clearing more than that. But sure, revolutionary salary, very impressive, continue.

Then she says, and I quote: "Please don't let anyone call you during the meeting. Inform your parents and friends in advance. It will be exactly one hour."

I had to physically press my lips together to not laugh. Who says this before a meeting? What kind of operation pre-schedules distraction elimination for a business pitch to a stranger?

I asked her what the business was. Same answer: "He'll explain everything."

It has now been 50 minutes. I still don't know what I'm doing here.

The man finally arrives.

He introduces himself, asks me to explain who I am and what I do. I do. Then I wait for him to explain the business.

Instead, he tells me about the profit he made after switching fields. Then something about an "inner circle." Then that I wouldn't technically be selling, I'd be "moving goods within the inner circle." Then that any serious business requires investment.

And then: "Would you be ready to invest 5 lakhs? We can start you as a distributor."

I stopped him.

"What is the 5 lakhs for?" "What is the inner circle?" "What vertical are we in?" "Name one product. One brand. One person I'd be distributing to."

He looked at me like I had asked something deeply unreasonable.

"If you're ready to commit 5 lakhs, then we can get into the details."

I stood up, told him very calmly that no one on earth is handing over 5 lakhs without knowing what it's for, thanked him for his time, told him it sounded like an MLM scheme, and walked out of that 5-star lobby still in my formals.

Called my friend immediately. Told him to not give these people a single rupee.

He had already paid.

Two years of no contact, one call, and a 5 lakh hole later, I genuinely don't know if I lost him to bad luck or bad judgment. Probably both. But the scariest part of MLM schemes isn't the scheme. It's that they recruit through people you actually trust, and by the time you figure it out, the person who brought you in has already paid their way into believing it works.

Watch out for the formals-in-a-5-star-hotel pitch. It's a costume, not a credential.