Nirav Tolia

Nirav Tolia is a technology entrepreneur with more than two decades of experience building consumer internet companies. As a founder, executive, and investor, Tolia began his career as one of the earliest employees at Yahoo, where he observed the company’s growth from a startup into a global internet business. He then co-founded and served as CEO of Epinions, one of the first mainstream websites focused on user-generated content. Epinions later became Shopping.com, where Tolia served as chief operating officer before returning to entrepreneurship as an entrepreneur-in-residence at Benchmark Capital.

Tolia collaborated with Sarah Leary, Prakash Janakiraman, and David Wiesen to create Nextdoor, a hyperlocal social network designed to connect neighbors and strengthen communities. The platform was inspired by the statistic that nearly 30 percent of Americans cannot name a single neighbor. As CEO, Tolia led Nextdoor’s growth into a global platform with tens of millions of users. Under his leadership, Nextdoor became associated with neighborhood engagement, from lost pet alerts to local business recommendations, and went public at a multibillion-dollar valuation. Nextdoor is used in nearly 40 percent of neighborhoods across the United States.

After stepping down as CEO, Tolia returned to lead Nextdoor, focusing on rebuilding trust, amplifying relevant local content, and leveraging artificial intelligence to enhance user experiences. He has discussed the development of proprietary AI tools, including a "kindness reminder" that encourages constructive engagement. Tolia has spoken about the challenges of building a platform for diverse viewpoints and his belief that utility should guide design principles, with financial success and positive social impact working in tandem.

Beyond Nextdoor, Tolia is active in the technology and investment community. He has invested in and advised companies such as Zillow, SurveyMonkey, and Minted, and appeared as a guest on "Shark Tank." He serves as non-executive chair of Hedosophia and is a co-founding director of the William S. Spears Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership at SMU Cox School of Business. Tolia has also taught as a visiting instructor for the Stanford in Florence program. As a keynote speaker, his topics include executive leadership, entrepreneurship, and technology, drawing on a career focused on innovation and community building.