Gökçe Güven, a 26-year-old Turkish national, is the founder and CEO of the rapidly growing fintech startup Kalder. She has been charged with multiple counts of securities fraud, wire fraud, visa fraud and aggravated identity theft. This turn of events surprises everyone. Less than a year ago, Güven was lauded as a star entrepreneur on the Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list.
Founded in 2022, Kalder promotes itself with the tagline “Turn Your Rewards into Revenue Engine. The firm’s goal, according to the company’s website, is to give firms the opportunity to develop new, consistent streams of income via third-party affiliate partner sales. In particular, Kalder has crowed about collaborations with a handful of recognizable clients, including the luxury chocolatier Godiva and the International Air Transport Association.
Yet the legal misfortune that has befallen Güven is a result of allegations that he kept two sets of books for Kalder. Those books contained false and inflated numbers one set of financial books saved” officials said. Güven touted these misrepresented figures to current and future investors alike. These misrepresentations were intended to hide the company’s glaring financial state.
This was a key point in Güven’s pitch deck, showcasing how 26 brands already trust Kalder to service their needs. It reported that 53 additional brands were in “live freemium” status. Upon review, we found that nearly all of these brands had no contracts with Kalder—not even for free services. Kalder’s representatives frequently pitched officials on the prospect of dramatically reduced-cost pilot programs. This multi-faceted strategy helped get the word out to pique the interest of potential partners.
This purported fraud is particularly concerning not just for Güven’s leadership, but for the day-to-day bone-deep operational integrity of his new public-facing startup. As these investigations unfold, the risk for both Güven and Kalder’s good name are significant.