When the CEO Blocks You and Deletes His LinkedIn: My Experience Raising Concerns with Nextdoor’s Nirav Tolia — and Why His Documented Past Suddenly Matters Again

I’m posting this because other channels have been shut down.

Earlier this year, I reached out to #Nextdoor & CEO Nirav Tolia with what began as a constructive request: greater transparency around content moderation policies, an open discussion with affected users, and common-sense product changes that would make neighborhoods safer and less toxic.

What started as a civil exchange quickly escalated. Nirav appears to have deleted or made private his LinkedIn profile and blocked me, leaving me no choice but to raise legitimate governance concerns directly with Nextdoor co-founder Sarah Leary and board member Bill Gurley.

When the CEO of a public-company-scale platform responds to criticism by disappearing and silencing a shareholder with feedback, it raises serious questions about judgment and accountability—especially when that same CEO has a documented history that includes:

- A 2013 no-contest plea to felony hit-and-run with injury (reduced to misdemeanor, served 30 days in jail + probation)

- A settled 2024 workplace sexual-harassment claim brought by a former Nextdoor employee

- A prior forced resignation from Shopping.com after misrepresenting that he had graduated from Stanford University (he had not completed his degree)

I am far from perfect and have my own mistakes in life, but evading legitimate questions from users and then hiding one’s professional presence the moment those past issues are referenced does not demonstrate growth or the leadership Nextdoor’s millions of users deserve.

The community is watching. #Nextdoor was founded on trust and neighborly values—those values feel increasingly at odds with current leadership behavior.

Respectfully asking for dialogue and accountability.

#Nextdoor #Leadership #CorporateGovernance #TransparencyMatters