Copying Isn’t Cheating (in some cases)— It’s Smart Strategy
“I wanted to win the Olympic gold medal. She did it. I figured, if I copied everything she did, I would win the Olympic gold medal too.”
I’m paraphrasing here, but that’s what Nastia Liukin, Olympic gold medalist, told me the first time we met. She was referring to another gold medalist gymnast who practiced at her gym. We were just starting to work together on TULA, where she became our first brand ambassador. Her mindset stuck with me, especially since it’s an approach I’d used too.
Most people think copying is wrong — even taboo. They confuse it with theft.
Yes, stealing someone’s work or IP is theft. But borrowing a framework that works? That’s not theft — that’s mentorship in disguise. It’s how we learn from people who’ve already figured it out.
When we launched TULA, we “stole” two core playbooks:
- Go narrow and deep with one motivated retail partner — a strategy my partner Ken used while building Bobbi Brown.
- Lean heavily into influencer marketing — something I saw work firsthand while building Spinback.
At Troops, we borrowed another winning formula: build on top of a widely adopted platform for accelerated distribution. In our case, it was Slack. At Buddy Media and Spinback, it was Facebook. One was a social network for the enterprise, the other was for consumers. Same strategy, different platform.
Even when hiring, I use frameworks and interview questions inspired by leaders like Zuckerberg and Musk — not to imitate, but to learn from their pattern recognition and what has clearly worked for them. Specific interview questions and frameworks I “stole”:
- “What’s something you’ve done that is exceptional?” – Elon
- “Would I work for this person?” – Mark
Now let’s be clear: there’s a line. I’ve seen companies cross it — pixel-for-pixel clones, one-to-one knockoffs. That’s theft. That’s lazy. That’s short-term. It’s also scummy.
But copying a strategy with intention and ethics? That’s just smart. The truth is, some of the most effective outcomes in business (and life) come from studying what works and adapting it well.
Copying isn’t the enemy. Done right, it’s a shortcut to excellence.

Nastia Liukin, Olympic gold medalist and TULA’s first brand partner
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