Nirav Tolia’s Son Got to Pitch Mr. Wonderful. What About the Kid Nextdoor?
I came across a post from Erica Wenger of Park Rangers Capital highlighting a story from her Trailblazers interview with Nextdoor CEO Nirav Tolia.
In the clip, Nirav talks about his friendship with Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary—Mr. Wonderful—and an experience his 14-year-old son, Deven, had with him.
You can watch the clip here:
Watch Nirav Tolia tell the story on LinkedIn
Apparently, Nirav’s son found himself riding in a car with Mr. Wonderful himself.
And he did exactly what an aspiring young entrepreneur should do.
He pitched him.
Kevin listened, answered his questions, and encouraged him. According to Nirav, his son was thrilled afterward.
That’s awesome.
Seriously.
If I were 14 years old and had a business idea, I’d probably be pretty excited to get one-on-one advice from a Shark too.
But something about this story also struck me as remarkably tone deaf when viewed through the lens of Nextdoor’s stated purpose.
Not Every 14-Year-Old Gets Chicken Nuggets With Mr. Wonderful
Let’s acknowledge something obvious.
Nirav’s son didn’t do anything wrong.
He should take advantage of every opportunity his parents can provide him. That’s what parents do.
But his position in the world gives him access that millions of other kids could never imagine.
Most 14-year-olds aren’t riding around with Kevin O’Leary.
They aren’t having dinner with famous investors.
They don’t have a CEO father who can say, “I’ve become friends with Mr. Wonderful.”
Some kid somewhere has an incredible idea right now and absolutely no idea how to get anyone to listen.
That’s the story I wish Nextdoor would create.
Imagine If Nextdoor Actually Did This
Nextdoor talks constantly about neighbors.
Community.
Connection.
Local knowledge.
Helping people connect with the resources around them.
So here’s an idea that seems almost ridiculously aligned with that mission:
Find the kid who doesn’t have access.
Use the Nextdoor network to find young entrepreneurs in underserved communities with great ideas but no Silicon Valley Rolodex.
Ask neighbors to nominate them.
Maybe it’s a teenager in Chicago designing something in a bedroom.
Maybe it’s a 15-year-old in Detroit working on a business idea after school.
Maybe it’s a kid in Charleston selling something out of a parent’s garage.
Maybe it’s somebody nobody has heard of yet.
Then give that kid 30 minutes with Kevin O’Leary.
Or Mark Cuban.
Or another successful entrepreneur.
Not because of who their parents know.
Because their neighbors discovered them.
That would be interesting.
That would be different.
And that would feel incredibly neighborly.
Nextdoor Has Something Most Venture Capital Firms Don’t
Nextdoor doesn’t need to become a venture-capital firm.
It already possesses something potentially more interesting: a network built around geographic communities.
That creates an opportunity to discover talent from places traditional entrepreneurial networks may overlook.
Think about it:
Nextdoor Young Entrepreneurs.
Neighbors nominate teenagers with business ideas.
Local business owners mentor them.
Nextdoor employees volunteer.
Entrepreneurs evaluate pitches.
Finalists receive mentorship, introductions, or perhaps small grants.
And once a year?
Put one of those kids in a car with Mr. Wonderful.
Chicken nuggets optional.
This Is Where I Think the Story Becomes Tone Deaf
Again, the problem isn’t that Nirav gave his son an extraordinary opportunity.
I’d probably do exactly the same thing.
The disconnect, in my view, is celebrating extraordinary access as an inspirational entrepreneurship story while leading a company whose identity is supposedly built around neighbors helping neighbors.
Listen to Nirav tell the story yourself:
Nirav Tolia discussing his son and Kevin O’Leary
Then imagine if the story ended differently.
Imagine Nirav saying:
“That experience made me realize how many brilliant kids will never have this opportunity. Nextdoor is going to help find them.”
Now you’ve got my attention.
Don’t Just Talk About Opportunity. Create It.
I’ve spent months giving feedback on Nextdoor because I believe the platform has enormous unrealized potential.
This is another example.
Nextdoor keeps talking about the value of its neighborhood network.
Okay.
Use it.
Find talent traditional networks miss.
Find the teenager whose parents don’t know venture capitalists.
Find the kid whose family isn’t hosting Kevin O’Leary for dinner.
Find someone who doesn’t know a Shark.
Then introduce them to one.
Because maybe the next great entrepreneur isn’t sitting in the backseat with Mr. Wonderful.
Maybe they’re sitting three blocks away wondering whether anybody will ever take their idea seriously.
Nextdoor could help find them.
Nirav’s son got an incredible opportunity because of the world he was born into. Imagine using Nextdoor to give an incredible opportunity to a kid who wasn’t.
Now that would be a story worth putting on a podcast.
And I promise I won’t complain if Kevin buys the chicken nuggets.
👉 More of my ongoing Nextdoor commentary at NielFlamm.com/blog