In 1999, PayPal executed one of the most unconventional growth strategies in modern business history: it paid people to sign up, highlighting how incentives can drive rapid adoption. At a time when online payments were unfamiliar, trust in internet commerce was fragile, and network effects were everything, PayPal deliberately chose to prioritize scale over short-term profitability. Rather than cautiously managing acquisition costs, the company aggressively subsidized adoption to secure a first-mover advantage. PayPal’s early playbook highlights how incentives, capital deployment, and behavioral triggers can inform modern growth tactics for entrepreneurs and business owners navigating trust-driven markets. The Core Problem PayPal Faced PayPal operated in a classic network-effect business. A payment platform has little value unless many people are using it. In 1999, consumers were accustomed to checks and credit cards, not sending money digitally to friends or strangers. Trust was ...