Founders Behaving Badly

#2| So long, and thanks for all the crimes

Amber Rhodes — Sun, 22 Jun 2025 06:00:00 -0400

In this episode of Founders Behaving Badly, we dig into Pavel Durov, Telegram’s meme-loving billionaire, whose “free speech forever” stance ultimately got him arrested.

00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:45 - A surprise arrest in Paris

00:03:32 - What even is Telegram?

00:06:18 - Free speech or just non-compliance?

00:08:29 - Memes, Mark Zuckerberg, and four passports

00:11:55 - 100 kids and no headquarters

00:15:08 - 950M users and zero filters

00:17:27 - From ISIS to influencers

00:23:56 - When privacy policies bite back

00:26:46 - A three-year fall from grace

00:29:27 - What the charges really mean

00:32:12 - Tech’s first platform liability arrest

00:34:33 - Enter Elon Musk (of course)

00:36:15 - Telegram changes its tune

00:41:32 - Is this really ‘bad behavior’?

00:46:13 - Advice for the founder in free fall

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#1 | 92 customers in a trench coat

Amber Rhodes — Sun, 18 May 2025 06:00:00 -0400

In the very first episode of Founders Behaving Badly, we dig into a sketchy AI edtech.

00:00:00 - Intro

00:02:40 - The AI chatbot for truancy

00:05:04 - From Harvard halls to hot water

00:06:51 - Fraud charges and pivot points

00:12:14 - Investor decks and wild claims

00:17:02 - When $5K becomes $3.7M

00:23:40 - The SVB collapse and a fake rescue

00:26:20 - Playing the consultant

00:31:02 - The final unraveling

00:36:15 - Where the money went (or didn’t)

42:18:00 - The end of free money

44:12:00 - When charisma meets crime

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Get in touch with Amber.

"Allegedly" - Founders Behaving Badly Trailer

Amber Rhodes — Wed, 26 Feb 2025 06:00:00 -0400

Hey, did you hear about what happened with that one founder?

Founders Behaving Badly is a podcast about founders and executives doing naughty things and not getting away with it.

In each episode, I'll tell guests a story about a founder misbehaving. From divisive posts and poor employee treatment to fraud, embezzlement, and identity theft.

These stories are full of juicy gossip, And hey, maybe you'll learn something about business along the way.

Or not.

You might be surprised by some of these stories of founders and CEOs misbehaving, but I'm not. I've got the news alerts and DMs to prove it.

Subscribe now to be the first to get new episodes.

And as always, allegedly.