Rocket Internet is often engaged in arbitrage where they bring an existing company’s idea to a different country or context. This is very different from the flood-the-zone astroturfing discussed above. Zalando is its own company employing ~5k engineers. This isn’t a copycat I would claim.

But maybe you’re referring to practices I am not aware of.

I worked for them: Its quuuiiiittteee different what they do from this "app-cloning-approach": Rocket Internet copies business models and adapts them other countries. They are bringing in own people if they invest if required for the startup, but usually the companies are mainly built be the original founders with support from Rocket Internet on different layers (like legal). Also Rocket invests Money. Sometimes .. a lot!

I worked for them and even interviewed to be founder of one of their spin-offs. GP’s comment has nothing to do with Rocket’s model. Zero.

And that’s coming from someone that despises Rocket for what they did to my workplace, the parent company, all teams I knew, and all colleagues I met from other projects.

App mills don’t respect anything at all, Rocket at least is Lawful Evil.