Trevor Milton sold a promise—a zero-emissions semi truck that could revolutionize the trucking industry. He also sold himself as the visionary founder capable of delivering on that promise. In this episode, we take you back to Trevor’s early years as an entrepreneur, and you’ll hear from some of the people who helped him build the businesses that came before Nikola. Ben Foldy is the host of this season of Bad Bets. Bad Bets is a production of The Wall Street Journal. This season is produced with Jigsaw Productions, in collaboration with Story Force Entertainment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Trevor Milton had a knack for pitching people to invest in his ideas. He raised millions for his early business ventures by making big promises, often to inexperienced investors including friends and members of his church community. In this episode, we talk to some of these investors, who say they suffered life-changing financial losses as Trevor’s star continued to rise.  Ben Foldy is the host of this season of Bad Bets. Bad Bets is a production of The Wall Street Journal. This season is produced with Jigsaw Productions, in collaboration with Story Force Entertainment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A jury has convicted Nikola founder Trevor Milton in his federal fraud trial. To better understand what led up to this moment, we hear from some of the engineers Nikola hired to help make Trevor’s idea of a zero-emissions semi truck a reality. In this episode, they tell us how Trevor’s statements about the Nikola One increasingly outpaced what they had actually managed to build.  Ben Foldy is the host of this season of Bad Bets. Bad Bets is a production of The Wall Street Journal. This season is produced with Jigsaw Productions, in collaboration with Story Force Entertainment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After it began trading in 2020, Nikola was a hot stock—and Trevor Milton was a newly minted billionaire. But in the background, people from Trevor’s past were finding each other and sharing their experiences. In this episode, we talk to the unlikely group of whistleblowers and short sellers who teamed up to find the cracks in Nikola’s facade and expose them to the world.  Ben Foldy is the host of this season of Bad Bets. Bad Bets is a production of The Wall Street Journal. This season is produced with Jigsaw Productions, in collaboration with Story Force Entertainment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As investors and General Motors bet on Trevor Milton’s vision, the short sellers at Hindenburg Research revealed that the company he founded, Nikola, wasn’t all that it seemed. The allegation that Nikola rolled its truck down a hill for a promotional video made Hindenburg’s report a sensation. In this episode, we’ll hear how Trevor Milton, investors and the U.S. government responded to the report—and how its authors ended up in a game of Spy vs. Spy with shadowy private investigators.  Ben Foldy is the host of this season of Bad Bets. Bad Bets is a production of The Wall Street Journal. This season is produced with Jigsaw Productions, in collaboration with Story Force Entertainment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Trevor Milton assembled a high-powered legal team to defend himself against federal fraud charges. At the same time, whistleblowers and Nikola executives were ready to testify against him. In our season finale, we go inside Milton’s trial and speak to some of the jurors who held his fate in their hands. Plus, we hear the revelations in a secret recording where Milton talks about his future.  Ben Foldy is the host of this season of Bad Bets. Bad Bets is a production of The Wall Street Journal. This season is produced with Jigsaw Productions, in collaboration with Story Force Entertainment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ask and you shall receive! This week, we’re covering our single most listener-requested topic: The “cult” of multi-level marketing (aka MLMs). Most of us have a former high school classmate or two who got sucked into a pay-and-recruit organization like Amway, Mary Kay, or Young Living. MLMs are at once the butt of countless jokes about pyramid schemes and brainwashed #girlbosses, and yet they maintain a profound hold on a certain slice of aspiring entrepreneurs, who’ve been promised that some shadily structured “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” will guarantee them the American Dream (and more). MLMs are certainly scammy, but are they culty? And if so, what kind of “cult” are they? In this episode, we attempt to find an answer...

No it’s not an episode of succession, but it feels like one. This story has billionaires, nepotism, betrayal, criminal accusations, and COUPONS! 

For links to all of the articles we discuss here check out corporategossippod.com

Follows us on tiktok @nitetoast 

Timestamps: 

01:00 - Background 

04:12 - BBBY CEO Steve Tamaras stupidly overpaid 

08:00 - Activist investors kick out the CEO 

14:15 - Nepotism!! 

19:50 - Activist investors kick out ANOTHER CEO

26:50 - BBBY as a meme stock and r/wallstreetbets 

40:50 - SEC investigations, death of BBBY CFO

44:50 - Takeaways

Thank you for listening!! Please send me an email becca@nitetoast.com