Day 79: I’m Calling for a Change at the Top of Nextdoor
Today is Day 79.
And I noticed something familiar.
Nirav Tolia is on the podcast prowl again.
Another microphone. Another conversation about Nextdoor, leadership, technology, human connection, community and the future.
Nirav recently appeared on Success Story with Scott D. Clary, discussing everything from AI and loneliness to trust, privacy, growth and building a company that can survive the AI era.
Meanwhile, I'm looking at something much simpler:
The stock price.
As of the time I'm writing this, NXDR is down another $0.02 to approximately $2.24 per share.
On August 10, NXDR closed at $2.68.
That was 22 days ago.
From $2.68 to $2.24 is a decline of:
$0.44 per share.
Or approximately:
16.4%.
That's not a number from a podcast.
That's not corporate messaging.
That's not a LinkedIn post.
That's the market.
I'm No Longer Just Asking Questions
I've spent 79 days documenting what I'm seeing happen at Nextdoor.
I've questioned communication.
I've questioned moderation.
I've questioned transparency.
I've questioned the treatment of small businesses and what I see as increasingly aggressive attempts at monetization.
I've questioned whether Nextdoor actually listens to the neighbors, businesses and shareholders it says are important.
I've requested detailed research. Nextdoor itself publicly tells readers to request it.
I've watched Communications respond without answering what I actually asked.
I've watched the CEO talk publicly about the importance of human connection.
And when I commented critically on his LinkedIn posts?
I was blocked. Again.
At some point, as an investor, I have to move beyond asking:
“What's going on?”
And say what I believe needs to happen.
I'm Calling for an Immediate Change at the Top
I'm a small shareholder.
I don't speak for every investor.
I don't speak for Nextdoor employees.
And I certainly don't control the board.
But I can speak for myself.
I no longer have confidence in Nirav Tolia's leadership of Nextdoor.
And as a shareholder, I'm calling for Nextdoor's Board of Directors to make an immediate change in leadership.
Yes, there are positive numbers.
Q2 revenue increased 15% year over year.
Adjusted EBITDA reached approximately $10 million.
And the GAAP net loss improved dramatically—from approximately $15 million a year earlier to approximately $2 million.
I acknowledge all of that.
But financial improvement doesn't automatically equal confidence in leadership.
Not for me.
Why I've Lost Confidence
It's the accumulation.
The decisions.
The communication.
The monetization choices that I believe risk alienating the very small businesses Nextdoor should be cultivating.
The moderation issues I've documented.
The questions about transparency.
The customer experience.
The inability—or unwillingness—to answer straightforward questions.
And now I'm watching a stock that closed at $2.68 on August 10 trading around $2.24.
Down roughly 16.4% in a little over three weeks.
Does Nirav Tolia personally control the daily stock price?
Of course not.
Markets don't work that way.
And I'm not suggesting a 22-day stock movement, by itself, proves whether a CEO is succeeding or failing.
But stock performance is one piece of the picture.
Investor confidence matters.
And this investor's confidence is gone.
Less Podcasting. More Fixing.
Maybe that's unfair.
CEOs promote their companies. Media appearances are part of the job.
But after watching this unfold for 79 days, every new podcast appearance makes me ask:
Who's minding the neighborhood?
I'd like to see the same enthusiasm devoted to listening to criticism.
Fixing the customer experience.
Supporting small businesses.
Improving transparency.
Examining moderation.
Answering shareholders.
And building confidence that Nextdoor's strategy is actually working.
Because there's a point where telling the story isn't enough.
The company has to deliver the story.
Day 79 Is Different
I'm not asking Nirav another question today.
I'm stating my position.
I believe Nextdoor needs new leadership.
I believe the Board should begin that process immediately.
Find someone who can take the progress Nextdoor has made financially and combine it with better communication, better execution, better stakeholder engagement, and a strategy that restores confidence in the company.
Someone who doesn't just talk about listening.
Someone who demonstrates it.
Maybe other shareholders completely disagree with me.
That's fine.
That's what markets—and shareholder discussions—are for.
But I'm putting my position on the record.
Day 79.
NXDR: approximately $2.24 as I write this.
Down approximately 16.4% from its August 10 close.
Still waiting for the detailed data.
Still blocked by the CEO on LinkedIn.
And now, as an investor:
I'm calling for a change at the top.
Read my complete continuing Nextdoor case study at NielFlamm.com/blog and subscribe at NielFlamm.com to follow what happens next.
Apparently, My Eye Is Climbing Now
Another day, another update from the cockpit of Left Eye Airlines.
Yesterday, I discovered that my vision now comes equipped with what looks like an airplane’s horizon indicator.
Today?
Apparently, we’re climbing.
The line across my vision is no longer level. It’s tilted, making the view through my left eye look like an aeronautical instrument telling me the aircraft is headed upward.
This would be significantly more exciting if I were actually flying somewhere.
Instead, I’m sitting here looking through an eyeball that has apparently decided it wants its pilot’s license.
The view itself is still divided into two distinct classes of service.
Above the horizon: blurry and out of focus.
Below the horizon: we are STILL serving vinaigrette. 🥗
So, if my eye were an airplane instrument panel, I believe the current message would be:
CLIMBING. VISIBILITY POOR. SALAD DRESSING BELOW.
Meanwhile, my arm continues healing from my disagreement with my prosthetic, gravity, and the carpet. It still looks considerably worse than it feels, but it appears to be moving in the right direction.
The eye is looking a little less dramatic from the outside, too.
From the inside?
Captain Niel is apparently gaining altitude.
At this point, I'm just waiting for my eye to announce:
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached our cruising altitude. You may now move about the cabin."
Until then, tray tables upright, seat belts fastened, and please keep the vinaigrette securely stored below the horizon.
✈️👁️🥗
My Eye Now Has Its Own Horizon Indicator
Another day, another update from the ongoing adventure known as my left eye.
The good news? My vision is changing.
The strange news? Apparently, my eye now thinks it’s an airplane.
When I look through my left eye today, there is a very distinct horizontal line across my vision. It reminds me of the horizon indicator in an airplane cockpit—the instrument that shows the pilot where the horizon is.
Except I'm not flying a plane.
I'm sitting here trying to see.
Above my personal horizon, things are blurry and out of focus.
Below the horizon?
We’re still serving vinaigrette.
That lower half of my vision still looks like I'm staring through cloudy salad dressing. So apparently my eye has divided the world into two viewing options:
Top half: blurry television.
Bottom half: vinaigrette.
At least there’s variety.
Meanwhile, my arm from last week's disagreement with my prosthetic, gravity, and the carpet continues to look far more dramatic than it feels. It's scabbing over and healing, although judging strictly by the photo, it appears my arm has been through considerably more than I remember.
So the recovery continues.
The eye is still red. The arm is still ugly. The steroid drops have still failed to turn me into the Hulk.
But every day, something changes.
And today, apparently, Captain Niel has a horizon indicator.
Please return your tray tables to their upright and locked position. ✈️👁️🥗
Day 78: Blocked Again — While the Stock Does the Slide
Today is Day 78 of my continuing Nextdoor case study.
And apparently we're doing two kinds of sliding:
The NXDR stock price is sliding.
And I've apparently slid right back onto Nirav Tolia's LinkedIn blocked list.
Well, that didn't take long.
On August 29, I was once again able to comment on Nirav's LinkedIn posts.
So I did.
I surfaced the same questions I've been raising publicly about how Nextdoor is being run: leadership decisions, communication, accountability, transparency, customer experience, and what I believe are some very questionable strategic choices.
And now?
I'm blocked again.
I have to admit, this one really gets me.
I'm one guy.
I'm not running a public company.
I'm not a Silicon Valley CEO.
I'm not appearing on podcasts discussing leadership, entrepreneurship, community, and human connection.
I've never sat in one of those big chairs on Shark Tank deciding whether somebody else's company deserves an investment.
I'm just a small shareholder with a website, a LinkedIn account, questions—and apparently a remarkable ability to locate Nirav Tolia's block button.
Meanwhile, Let's Talk About the Stock
NXDR has been doing a little slide of its own.
The stock closed at $2.68 on August 10.
By August 28, it closed at $2.27.
Stocks go up. Stocks go down. Eighteen days certainly don't determine the future of a company.
But shareholders are allowed to ask questions when the direction isn't the one we'd like to see.
And Nextdoor's latest quarterly results still included a net loss of $2 million.
Yes, that's a significant improvement from the $15 million loss during the same quarter a year earlier. Nextdoor also reported positive adjusted EBITDA.
I acknowledge progress when it's there.
But a loss is still a loss.
And here's what gets me:
The CEO of a public company can receive compensation worth millions while shareholders watch the stock struggle and the company continues reporting a GAAP net loss—and somehow my LinkedIn comments are enough to get me blocked again?
That's fascinating to me.
I'm not the person running the company.
I'm one of the people invested in it.
Imagine This on Shark Tank
An entrepreneur walks into the Tank.
The Shark starts asking uncomfortable questions:
Why are you losing money?
Why is the stock struggling?
Why isn't the strategy producing better results?
What are customers saying?
Why should investors believe in the turnaround?
The entrepreneur doesn't like the questions.
So instead of answering...
they block the Shark.
🦈 “And for that reason, you're blocked.”
I'd watch that episode.
Leadership Isn't Tested by Compliments
It's easy to talk about transparency when everyone agrees.
It's easy to talk about community when everyone is applauding.
It's easy to talk about listening when the message is flattering.
Leadership gets more interesting when someone says:
I don't think you're doing this well. Explain why I'm wrong.
Maybe I am wrong.
Show me.
Challenge my argument.
Explain the strategy.
Tell me why the decisions I'm criticizing make sense.
I'd welcome that conversation.
Blocking is easier.
And apparently we've chosen easier again.
Day 78 — And the Questions Haven't Been Blocked
I'm still waiting for the detailed Insights data that started this entire counter.
I'm still documenting what happens.
And I'm still a shareholder who wants Nextdoor to succeed.
That's precisely why I'm asking questions.
Nirav can block my LinkedIn account.
He can prevent my comments from appearing underneath his posts.
But here's the problem:
Blocking the shareholder doesn't block the questions.
It doesn't change the earnings report.
It doesn't move the stock price.
It doesn't improve communication.
And it doesn't end this case study.
So here we are.
Day 78.
The stock has been sliding.
I'm blocked again.
The detailed data still hasn't arrived.
And somehow, one guy with a blog keeps being worth blocking.
That's becoming a story all by itself.
Read the complete continuing Nextdoor case study at NielFlamm.com/blog and subscribe at NielFlamm.com to see what happens on Day 79.
I Watched It So You Can Decide If You Should: My Latest Movie Review
There are movies I walk out of thinking, “Wow. I need to tell everyone to see that.”
Then there are movies where I walk out thinking:
“What the hell did I just watch?”
And sometimes those are much more fun to review.
My latest movie review is up, and rather than give away everything I thought about the movie here, I'm going to do something simple:
I'm inviting everyone to watch the review.
Why?
Because I've learned that a Rotten Tomatoes score doesn't necessarily mean I’ll love a movie.
A great cast doesn't guarantee a great movie.
An interesting premise doesn't guarantee the story will work.
And critics and audiences can sometimes watch the same movie and seemingly experience two completely different films.
That's one of the reasons I started doing these reviews.
I'm Not a Professional Movie Critic
I don't have a film degree.
I'm not analyzing whether the director properly paid homage to some obscure French film from 1962.
And I'm probably not going to explain the metaphorical significance of a lamp sitting in the corner of the room.
I'm a guy who likes movies.
I have Regal Unlimited. I go to the theater. I buy my popcorn. I get my Pepsi Zero. I sit down, watch the movie, and decide whether those two hours of my life were well spent.
That's my highly sophisticated rating system.
And when something doesn't work?
I'm going to say it.
When something surprises me?
I'll say that too.
And occasionally, a movie gives me so much material that reviewing it becomes almost as entertaining as watching it.
So, Was This Movie Worth Watching?
I'm not answering that here.
That's the bait.
🎬 In my full movie review, I break down what worked, what didn't, what made absolutely no sense to me, and whether I think the movie was worth my money—and my time.
I'm sure some people will completely disagree with me.
Actually, I hope they do.
Because that's half the fun.
After watching the review, I'm curious whether everyone thinks:
Did Niel get it right, or has he completely lost his mind?
👉 My full movie review is at NielFlamm.com
While there, my other movie reviews are available too, along with an option to subscribe so the next one doesn't get missed.
Because I'm going to keep watching them.
The good ones. The bad ones. And especially the ones that make me wonder who approved the script.