Ha! Read up the history of the start of Kingston memory, a little RAM manufacturer that I am pretty sure you've heard of, given its massive visibility in US retail.
Many many very successful and "respected" companies start out with a big gamble that is used to fund the creation of a legitimate business. This is a huge gamble, but the market market calls the losers of these gambles "scam artists" and the winners "captains of industry".
How many startups have given presentations about their amazing technology, using demos that mislead the potential investors about how far along the tech really is, only to turn around and use the investment money to actually pay for the real hard part?
Personally I prefer the complete lack of stress associated with just being honest: you never have to care who learns any particular details about your behavior, because there's nothing to worry about defending.
Even when everything is documented, there are still gaps in communication, and trust fills them.