It's hard to get accurate data on this, but I wonder how many startups avoid doing morally edgy stuff at the beginning. Reddit used fake accounts; Kevin Rose reviewed Digg on his TV show and submitted affiliate links; Google and Yahoo! used Stanford servers; eBay told anybody who would listen a completely fabricated story about the company started.
Obviously, none of that stuff is as bad as Zynga's scam ads (or Myspace's wrinkle creams and spyware). But is that because Zynga was evil, or because they didn't get around to stopping until they were too visible?
I am pretty sure many many founders, if not the startups necessarily, have very 'interesting' pasts.
I definitely do and it goes back to high school. But I make it a point not to post about it online primarily because not understanding the context, it can be spinned many ways. I don't mind talking about it offline when I have time to tell the whole story from my mouth.
Obviously, none of that stuff is as bad as Zynga's scam ads (or Myspace's wrinkle creams and spyware). But is that because Zynga was evil, or because they didn't get around to stopping until they were too visible?