Using a network or community of people to promote each other is not a ponzi scheme. A ponzi scheme would be if he took profits from those new people to somehow

Using a network or community of people to promote each other is not a ponzi scheme. A ponzi scheme would be if he took profits from those new people to somehow pay the old people. This is actually the opposite of that, where he's getting time and effort from established people to boost new people. It's functionally no different than having a friend in an industry that gives you a shout out when you start a new venture, except you're opting into a group of people all doing this to help each other. It's nothing new, and nothing problematic IMO, and it's been going on for hundreds of years at least, and possibly thousands.