Zeek Rewards initially launched with a clear promise: a 125% return on investment for members. This guarantee applied to all funds put into the company, or through bids purchased by customers. Members needed only to submit a daily classified ad to qualify for these returns.
The company later hired lawyers to ensure compliance, but then shifted blame toward its members. Troy Dooly, a "training consultant" at a Zeek Rewards "Red Carpet" event, stated that members, not the business model, would determine the company's success or failure. This came as members frequently praised the daily returns they earned.
Zeek Rewards began systematically eliminating evidence of this initial business model in mid-2011, following changes to its operations. Little remains today that openly details the origins of the Zeek Rewards opportunity or its early marketing.
A marketing call hosted by Zeek Rewards' Sales Director, Darryl Douglas, on January 26, 2011, offers insight into these early days. Douglas introduced himself on the call as living in Orange County, California. He claimed to be cousins with singers Brandy and Ray J. Douglas also stated he had ten years of network marketing experience, citing a previous organization of "four million people." The call took place six days after Zeek Rewards launched its "compounder" compensation plan on January 21.
Douglas spent time discussing traffic and Zeekler's penny auctions before detailing the "compounder" plan. He explained the earning process: "You log into your backoffice, you've already written all the ads (well, the company has), I choose one of them, and then I choose one of the places you suggest we run the ad, I place my ad there, I'm done, I go back to the back office and let you guys know I've placed my ad, and tonight I earn a pay-day." This "pay-day" happened every 24 hours.
Zeekler created Zeek Rewards specifically to introduce this compounder system, Douglas noted at the 11:02 mark of the call.