Ex-CEO Who Pled Guilty to Domestic Abuse Proudly Launches New Startup
Over the weekend, Gurbaksh Chahal, the former RadiumOne CEO who was fired after pleading guilty to domestic violence, published and then deleted a blog post (printed below). In it, the raving solipsist and serial deleter revealed he would launch a new startup.
In two days and 13 hours, according to the website's countdown clock, the world will witness Gravity4, "the world's first high frequency marketing OS." He plans on hiring 50 new employees in San Francisco and New York City. Candidates might want to check out allegations from Chahal's former personal assistant before applying. However, Chahal's previous success—he sold his company BlueLithium to Yahoo for $300 million—seems to have elicited at least a couple resumes.
To those who want to define their legacy, 50+ positions in SF & NYC open. Send your cover & resume to hr@gravity4.com. @Gravity4 T-4 Days
— Gurbaksh Chahal (@gchahal) July 13, 2014
This weekend's deleted blog post was in classic Chahal form. The ex-CEO blamed everyone but himself for the actions that unfolded after he was charged with 45 felony counts for allegedly hitting his girlfriend 117 times in half an hour. He also continues to spin conflicting narratives that make Chahal sound like the real victim.
Chahal has previously claimed that the District Attorney's office was politically motivated and that he was "cornered" into accepting a plea. Then he said his board, who didn't seem put off by the charges until public sentiment turned, forced him to take a plea in order to ease the process of RadiumOne filing for an IPO. Now Chahal is blaming the media for his father's recent heart attack:
This was especially troubling given that the negative media attention was predicated on a misunderstanding of the facts of my political witch hunt: a strong statement by the Company that I was not convicted of any felonies, and, in fact, was placing the Company's interests ahead of my own, would have defused the story. Instead, by terminating me, the Board actually fueled this general misconception. The media had a field day. This turned from local news to international news shortly after. My father even got a call from India, and by the time the story had traveled there, the media printed that I was sentenced to prison. He immediately had a heart attack. This now became extremely personal, since this was my father's third heart attack and I could have lost him this time. Those newspapers have since, issued apologies and redacted their story.
Chahal does not say which newspapers have issued apologies or redactions. The San Francisco Weekly article implying that Chahal paid off his victim and that his powerful lawyer helped him evade jail time is still in its original form.
After the guilty plea, Chahal has repeatedly maintained his "innocence" and does so again in the deleted post, adding his "integrity" and "values" into the mix:
First, and foremost, I don't condone domestic violence and I wouldn't expect anyone else to either. And, I apologize to anyone that I hurt in this process. This year has affected me greatly, both personally and professionally. I have not only maintained innocence but also transparency with my board since the beginning. This incident tested everything in my life. I at least had my integrity, my values and the truth. After the events that unfolded with RadiumOne, and the storm of horrible press, all three of these were publicly in question.
Chahal insists that he launched two previous online advertising networks for "the creativity," and is not starting Gravity 4 for the money:
I never build companies for financial gain. I've been blessed with a great family and the success thus far. I build them for creativity, jobs, and the thrill of making magic happen over and over again. It's a sad thing, since all RadiumOne really needed to do was apologize to my family and I and take some accountability to help remedy the situation with a public apology. Although an apology can't reverse what has happened, it would've helped clarify the distorted situation and help us all move forward – integrity intact.
Chahal—who, again, keeps maintaining his innocence after his guilty plea—just wants "accountability" from his former company. He says he's moving past his fight with RadiumOne's board . . . by pursuing his lawsuit against RadiumOne's board:
I have no other option but to pursue litigation. But, at the same time, I am closing this chapter of RadiumOne by exposing the dirty politics involved.
In the upcoming litigation there will be hundreds of other documents providing perspective on the greed, deception, and betrayal behind my termination. It will also shine light on how corrupt the human soul can become.
What are the chances that mountain of evidence will include security footage of the domestic violence incident dismissed by the judge?
To contact the author of this post, please email nitasha@gawker.com.
[Image via Getty]