Is Thrive a Pyramid Scheme? Get All The Facts

With the prevalence of get-rich-quick scams and exploitative business opportunities, carefully scrutinizing business schemes and programs with huge promises of riches and prosperity is not out of place. This is why a review of one of the latest and most popular business schemes, Thrive, comes in handy. 

This guide will benefit you if you have heard about Thrive and wondered about the nature of the business and if it is a pyramid scheme or a more legitimate means of making money. The article discusses the scheme in detail and answers all your questions regarding Thrive, its legitimacy, and profitability. 

What is Thrive?

Thrive’s official name is LeVel Thrive, a health and wellness company that promotes healthy living through its products and services. The company was founded by Paul Gravette and Jason Camper in 2012, both professionals with years of expertise in the health and wellness industry. . 

The company’s first product is the Thrive Experience, a 3-part regimen product that includes a milkshake, capsules, and stickers. Using the company’s catchphrase, “premium lifestyle company,” the capsules in the regimen are known as “premium lifestyle capsules,” the stickers as “premium lifestyle DFT,” and the milkshake as “ultra micronized shake drink.” 

Apart from these three, Thrive also expanded its product range to include five other products. These products are; 

  1. Thrive FIT BUILD

 A combination of casein protein isolate and whey supplement that is great for muscle development.

  1. Thrive PLUS 

A product purported to help with immune system support, healthy weight management, mental clarity, energy, and performance, as well as relaxation support. The company claims that people would enjoy these benefits more if the Thrive PLUS is used in conjunction with the Thrive Experience regimen. 

  1. Thrive SKIN

 This is another 3-part product, but this time, for the skin. It uses CBD Oil, and the three parts involved in using the product include Peel, Reduce and Restore. 

  1. Thrive FIT

This product is a powdered mix that contains a branched-chain amino acid. It is said to work excellently as a pre-exercise supplement. 

  1. Thrive FIT RECOVER

 This product combines carbohydrates and protein and works excellently as an exercise recovery supplement.  

While the company claims that these products have numerous health benefits and interesting advantages, medical experts show that none of the claims made by the company have been substantiated in a medical study or research. 

However, people who have used the products claimed to feel a lot better after using the products. Thus, it is safe to assume that these products are safe and harmless to human health. While it is quite controversial, and people have accused it of being an MLM company and pyramid scheme, it is still in business, just like many of its wellness counterparts such as Modere, Melaeluca and Wake Up Now.

How To Make Money With Thrive?

When you join Thrive, you do so as a brand promoter. This means your job is to promote the company’s product and bring in more people to do the same. Thus, you earn commissions from the sales of the products promoted and also earn commissions from the sales of your recruits. 

According to the compensation plan created by the company, there are eleven different ways to make money with Thrive. They include; 

  1. Retail Commission

This is the first and most common means of income with Thrive. Brand promoters get 20% of the value of their customer’s orders. If you promote a product worth $100 and your customer buys it, you get $20 as compensation. 

Similarly, you get commissions from the products sold by the promoters you brought into the business. 

  1. Vanishing Autoship

Thrive creates an auto-ship program for its customers. As a brand promoter, you are encouraged to convince customers to enter the auto-ship program. Thus, if you get two or more customers into the business, you get free products from Thrive.

You can then decide to use these products or sell them, which is another source of income. 

  1. Infinity Fast Start

This is a reward system for bringing new brand promoters into the business. The reward amount ranges between $5 to $140. 

  1. Infinity Fast Start Match

This is an extended version of the previous reward system. You do not only get paid when you bring in new brand promoters; you also get paid when these promoters also bring new promoters. Thrive pays you 10% of the bonus paid to the promoters. 

  1. Infinity Fast Start Match Accelerator

This is the same reward system as the infinity fast start match. However, it only becomes active when you reach the 4k VIP rank and have brought in 8 brand promoters.  

  1. Go VIP Bonus

This reward system allows brand promoters to earn between $400 and $800 as a bonus within the first 14 days of joining Thrive. This bonus also comes with Thrive credits and is activated when you meet certain requirements regarding sales and recruitment within the first 14 days. 

  1. Uni-Level Team Commissions

This payment refers to the commissions earned from the sales of the promoters you sponsored and brought into the scheme. This commission becomes when you have promoters across eight levels in the scheme. 

  1. Team Commissions Matching Bonus

This reward plan allows you to earn a match of the Uni-Level Team Commissions earned by the brand promoters you recruited. This match usually falls between 20% to 40% of the sponsored promoters’ earnings. 

  1. VIP Auto Bonus

This reward system pays brand promoters between $800 and $1600 to purchase vehicles and automobiles. As with other compensation plans, there are certain requirements to be met before qualifying for this reward. 

  1. Lifestyle Getaways

This reward is a paid vacation to tourist sites such as Napa Valley, Alaska, Las Vegas, and Italy. 

  1. Maui Jim Bonus

This is another reward system that awards you a pair of Maui Jim sunglasses when you reach 4000 QV within your first 30 days as a brand promoter with Thrive. 

With these numerous ways to make money in the business, it appears like Thrive is a profitable business. 

However, there are no official income disclosure statements to verify this assumption. It is also a good sign that brand promoters do not have to pay any money to join the business, according to the statement on the company’s website. 

However, reviews from people who have joined the business in the past show that you may need to part with about $500 to increase your chances of making substantial earnings from the business. 

Is Thrive a Pyramid Scheme?

Thrive is not a pyramid scheme. The business has actual products to sell, and brand promoters make money from commissions off the sale of products made by the company. This puts Thrive out of the pyramid scheme conversation. 

A more accurate definition for Thrive is MLM, which stands for multi-level marketing. Multi-level marketing businesses sell products and allow people to make more from recruiting more people into the business. While MLM is legal and allowed in many countries, a pyramid scheme is not. 

However, this is not an endorsement of Thrive as a profitable business. A study by the Federal Trade Commission showed that 99% of people who join MLM companies lose their money.

Bottom Line

While Thrive is neither a pyramid scheme nor a scam, it may be difficult for people to make much money from the business. This is because it is an MLM business; according to the FTC, 99% of people joining MLM businesses lose their money at the end of the day.

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