Comment by Retric

There are several approaches you can use on large company's including Enron style accounting fraud but clearly it's much simpler with small ones. Other options include http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html where you try to hype the market segment not any of it's products. But a far more legal approach is to simply kill off the R&D program and look for a sucker/greater fool to buy the rotting shell which looks great on paper.