The Belgian Waffle
A scrappy Flemish speech recognition company tries to put its hometown on the global tech map.
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- (00:00) - A Pie to the Face
- (01:00) - Welcome to Oh My Fraud
- (06:00) - Welcome to Flanders, Belgium
- (07:30) - Meet the Founders: Jo Lernout and Pol Hauspie
- (09:30) - The Dream of Voice Recognition
- (13:30) - Going Public in a Crowded Market
- (16:00) - Creating the Flanders Language Valley
- (20:00) - Gaston Bastiaens and His Wine Cellar Wager
- (24:00) - Microsoft's $45 Million Investment
- (27:00) - The Philosophy of Pie Throwing
- (28:30) - Explosive Growth and Suspicious Numbers
- (30:30) - Dragon Systems and Dictaphone Acquisitions
- (33:00) - The Korean Revenue Mystery
- (36:00) - Wall Street Journal Starts Digging
- (38:30) - "I Lied About Everything"
- (40:00) - The Resignation and Bankruptcy
- (44:00) - The SEC Reveals the Fraud
- (46:00) - Criminal Convictions and Symbolic Justice
- (47:00) - Lessons Learned: Fake It Till You Make It
- (48:30) - What Happened to the Technology
- (50:00) - Closing Thoughts
HOW TO EARN FREE CPE
In less than 10 minutes, you can earn NASBA-approved accounting CPE after listening to this episode. Download our mobile app, sign up, and look for the Oh My Fraud channel. Register for the course, complete a short quiz, and get your CPE certificate.
https://www.earmark.app/
Download the app:
Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/earmark-cpe/id1562599728
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.earmarkcpe.app
CONNECT WITH CALEB
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/calebnewquist/
Email us at ohmyfraud@earmarkcpe.com
Sources:
- How Hype Hurt Lernout & Hauspie [Bloomberg via Wayback Machine]
- How High-Tech Dream Shattered In Scandal at Lernout & Hauspie [WSJ]
- Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products: Financing From Start-up through IPO [INSEAD, Herwig Langohr, Benoit Leleux, Danny Lein, July 2000, accessed on Sept. 16, 2025]
- Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products: The Question [INSEAD, Arnoud De Meyer, Bart Pycke, January 1998, accessed on Sept. 16, 2025]
- Quarterdeck Office Systems [Wikipedia]
- Patent Is Won By Quarterdeck [NYT]
- Internet Hype Gives New Life to Quarterdeck Stock [LAT]
- Gaston Bastiaens [Apple.Fandom]
- Today in Apple history: Apple exec bets his wine cellar on Newton [CultofMac]
- Will Microsoft's Stake in Lernout & Hauspie Drive Growth in Speech? [Speech Technology Magazine]
- In Brussels, Gates Takes a Pie in the Face [Reuters via Wayback Machine]
- Bill Gates Being Hit in the Face With a Pie (1998) [YouTube]
- Noël Godin [Wikipedia]
- He Plasters Paris’ Elite With Cream Pies [LAT]
- Bernard-Henri Levy Pied again in Belgium [YouTube]
- FM Interviews: Noël Godin [First Monday]
- Lernout & Hauspie Shares Drop Amid Puzzling Revenue Results [WSJ]
- Lernout & Hauspie Surges In Korea, Raising Questions [WSJ]
- Lernout's Bastiaens Will Step Down From CEO Post at Software Concern [WSJ]
- Lernout to Refile Financial Reports; Co-Founders Resign as Chairmen [WSJ]
- Lernout Files for Bankruptcy Protection, Says Cash at South Korean Unit Is Missing [WSJ]
- The Talk of Flanders Has Most Speechless [AP]
- Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products, N.V., Litigation Release No. 17782, Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Release No. 1648, October 10, 2002 [Securities and Exchange Commission]
- Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products, N.V., Litigation Release No. 18014, March 4, 2003 [Securities and Exchange Commission]
- Lernout & Hauspie Founders Guilty in Fraud [WSJ]
- Goldman Sachs and the $580 Million Black Hole [NYT]
Creators and Guests
Host
Caleb Newquist
Writer l Content at @GustoHQ | Co-host @ohmyfraud | Founding editor @going_concern | Former @CCDedu prof | @JeffSymphony board member | Trying to pay attention.
