Kyle Sandler: The Alabama Startup Scam
5/25/202655 min
Kyle Sandler spent much of his life searching – for an identity, for a purpose, for a place where he fit in. But when he discovers he has a gift for sales, everything changes. Kyle takes his talents to a small town in Alabama, where he opens Round House, a startup incubator that promises to put his new community on the tech map. Armed with big-name drops – including an alleged connection to Google – Kyle dazzles wide-eyed investors into opening their wallets. But as the money pours in, cracks begin to form – and an entire town is about to learn just how much...
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First 90 secondsSachi Cole· Host0:00
Audible subscribers can listen to all our episodes of Scamfluencers ad-free right now. Join Audible today by downloading the Audible app. [upbeat music] Sarah, do you ever watch Shark Tank? Or perhaps its Canadian equivalent, Dragon's Den?
Sarah Hagi· Host0:20
Absolutely. I've watched so many episodes of both of them, and I feel like Shark Tank, any time you're in a hotel, it's on. [laughs] Any time you're in a hotel, an episode of Shark Tank is playing, and I love it.
Sachi Cole· Host0:34
Yeah, Shark Tank is a show exclusively made for hotels. I watched a lot of Dragon's Den when I was younger, and it felt really good to pretend like I had any idea what the market wanted or how much of it they wanted.
Sarah Hagi· Host0:47
No, I genuinely became a business expert watching these shows. I'm like, "10% for blah, blah, blah." I'm like, "What the... I don't know what the hell they're talking about. What is this?"
Sachi Cole· Host0:57
Right.
Sarah Hagi· Host0:57
But, you know, you feel like you understand.
Sachi Cole· Host0:59
Yeah, it feels good to pretend. Well, today's scammer is one of those suspiciously rich, dubiously credentialed investors who love to promise the world to vulnerable entrepreneurs who dared to dream big, but was only in it for his slice of the pie. It's late 2015, and Parker Owen is walking into an office in a small town in Alabama. Parker is a former Auburn University student in his early 20s with blond hair, blue eyes, and a baby face.