Rocket’s business model of replicating successful Internet companies had generated controversy.
One observer noted that Rocket was “often derided as a clone factory.”3 In some cases, Rocket
startups had even copied minor details of the websites it apparently emulated (see Exhibit 1).4
Rocket’s success inspired others to copy its business model. Two of the company’s top-level
executives had left to open a similar company, Project A Ventures.5 One observer noted that in Berlin
alone, “Besides Rocket, there are half a dozen Samwer wannabes….”6