# He Took the Company Card on a $15,000 Vacation Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-bad-hire-podcast-7361470/he-took-the-company-card-on-a-15-000-vacation Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-bad-hire-podcast-7361470/he-took-the-company-card-on-a-15-000-vacation.md Podcast: [The Bad Hire Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-bad-hire-podcast-7361470) Published: 2026-02-11T18:42:17+00:00 Episode link: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thebadhire/episodes/He-Took-the-Company-Card-on-a-15-000-Vacation-e3ev4nv Audio file: https://anchor.fm/s/105bd3598/podcast/play/115364031/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-1-11%2F417915270-44100-2-e3c4525d2833.m4a Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-bad-hire-podcast-7361470/episodes/he-took-the-company-card-on-a-15-000-vacation Duration seconds: 3207 ## Resource Sometimes a “bad hire” is just a bad apple. In Episode 19 of The Bad Hire, Ken and Nathan are joined by special guest Steve Stewart, CEO and co-founder of SongHub, to talk through some of the wildest (and most expensive) hiring disasters he’s seen in both startups and the music industry. From a tour manager who went rogue with a company credit card, to a fake coder who couldn’t code, to a $360K CTO who secretly took a second job—this episode is packed with jaw-dropping stories and hard-won hiring wisdom. Whether you’re building your first team or managing a high-growth startup, this one’s a crash course in hiring red flags, corporate chaos, and the high cost of trusting the wrong person. You’ll hear: – The $15,000 Caribbean getaway that ended in a pink slip – How to spot a resume faker before it’s too late – What happens when a CTO “quiet quits”… for a different company – Why founders need to stop ignoring HR structure – How Steve’s hiring approach changed after losing big 💸 Think you’ve heard worse? Submit your bad hire story at TheBadHire.com for a chance to win $10,000. Key Takeaways: • Not all risks pay off—especially with hires. • Trust is earned, not assumed. • Your team’s integrity is more valuable than their résumé. • Systems don’t stop fraud, but they expose it faster. • When someone shows you who they are—believe them. ⸻ Connect with Us: 🌐 Website: TheBadHire.com 📧 Email: team@thebadhire.com 📱 Instagram: @thebadhirepod 📘 Facebook: facebook.com/thebadhirepod 🎵 TikTok: @thebadhirepod 💼 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/thebadhire — Sponsored by BChex: Need better background checks? BChex makes hiring safer, faster, and simpler. From visitor management to employee monitoring—BChex has you covered. www.bchex.io — 🎙️ Submit your own bad hire story for a chance… ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-bad-hire-podcast-7361470/episodes/he-took-the-company-card-on-a-15-000-vacation/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-bad-hire-podcast-7361470/he-took-the-company-card-on-a-15-000-vacation.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.