No you make money by making loans to a bot which trades on the bitcoin volatility. You get an average of 1% per day in interest repayments direct to you in USD. Referring people gives you 5% interest on their initial investment (ie you make a $1000USD loan I get $50USD) It's a way to make a bit of extra cash but in all honesty I think a lot of people who use bitconnect want people to get on board for the longevity off the software and to give opportunity to those who do not yet know about it.