She Faked 4 Million Users and Got $175M.

This week was straight-up wild. Fake users, fat raises, and a browser that somehow costs more than your whole city block. Let’s get into it...

Frank: She Created 4 Million Fake People 😬 ($175M Fraud)

Charlie Javice founded Frank in 2016 to help students apply for financial aid. In 2021, she sold it to JPMorgan for $175M. Now she’s been found guilty of fraud because those “4 million users” were literally fake.

💡 Why It Matters:
Charlie allegedly paid a data scientist $18k to fabricate millions of fake student accounts, just to juice up her user count for the deal. JPMorgan took the bait and wired the bag. It’s one of the biggest startup scams since Theranos. But this time it’s spreadsheets, not blood tests.

This case is now a landmark example of what happens when hype beats homework.

🎓 What You Can Learn From This:
Growth hacks are cool. Making up millions of humans? Less cool. You can get away with a lot if it feels like momentum. But sooner or later, someone will check the receipts. Especially if they’re a trillion-dollar bank…

🔮 Prediction:
By 2027, someone will launch a B2B SaaS for auto-generating fake traction. Call it "UserBoost.ai." YC accepts it. JPMorgan invests again.

Island: The Browser for Corporate Spies 🌐 ($250M Raised)

Founded in 2020 by Mike Fey and Dan Amiga, Island just raised $250M in fresh funding, bumping their valuation to $4.8 billion. All for building... a browser.

💡 Why It Matters:
Island looks like Chrome but it’s built for companies. IT teams use it to control everything: what sites employees visit, what gets copied, even what’s being screenshot. It’s not flashy, it’s not fun and that’s exactly why enterprises are obsessed.

The browser is now a weaponized productivity leash, and bosses are eating it up.

🎓 What You Can Learn From This:
Sometimes boring is beautiful. While everyone else is chasing AI hype, Island locked in on something dull but critical: control. Sell power, not features.

Also: build software that gets bought by the buyer, not the end user. HR doesn’t need love. They just want fewer security incidents.

🔮 Prediction:
By 2026, Island adds webcam tracking. If your eyes wander to your phone, it sends your boss a calendar invite titled: “Disciplinary Chat.”

🔥 MEME BREAK 🔥

Mercury: The Fintech Founders Actually Like 🏦 ($300M Raised)

Immad Akhund, Max Tagher and Jason Zhang founded Mercury in 2017 to make banking not suck. Their reward? A fat $300M Series C and a new valuation of $3.5B.

💡 Why It Matters:
Mercury gives startups clean banking. No BS, no hidden fees, just slick dashboards and fast tools. Founders can open accounts in minutes, send wires without begging for approval, and manage cash without getting lost in a maze of PDFs.

In a world of clunky legacy banks, Mercury feels like a product you actually want to use.

🎓 What You Can Learn From This:
Startups don’t want bank branches or fax machines. They want UX, clarity, and speed. Mercury won because it treats banking like a modern SaaS product, not a DMV.

Also: founders trust other founders. If you build for them and speak their language, you don’t need a huge sales team, the hype spreads on its own.

🔮 Prediction:
Mercury becomes the first bank to offer meme coin accounts. Users can earn interest in Doge, get overdraft alerts via TikTok sound, and stake their runway on-chain.

Startup Idea Of The Week: PseudoHire 🧢

Fake the Tech Job. Keep the Clout.

💡 How It Works:
For $29/month, PseudoHire makes it look like you work at Google, Meta, or some fancy tech company even if you’re just eating cold pizza in bed.

You get:
– A fake LinkedIn job
– AI-written emails from fake managers saying “great job!”
– Fake meeting invites like “Strategy sync with Sundar”
– Screenshots of fake team chats to post online

💰 Why It’s a Great Idea:
Everyone’s faking it anyway. This just makes it easier. Founders use it to raise, influencers use it to flex, and your mom finally stops asking what you're doing with your life.

🔮 Verdict:
Goes viral. Gets banned. Then someone relaunches it as “for parody use only.” Still hits $500K/month. Chaos wins again.

📢 One Last Thing

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— The FOMO Report Team

Disclaimer: This newsletter runs on caffeine, late-night rabbit holes, and way too many Red Bulls.