![<p>A scrappy Flemish speech recognition company tries to put its hometown on the global tech map.</p><p></p><p><strong>Sponsors</strong><br>Routable - <a href="http://accountingpodcast.promo/routable">http://ohmyfraud.promo/routable</a><br>Bluebook -<a href="%20http://ohmyfraud.promo/bluebook"> http://ohmyfraud.promo/bluebook</a></p><br><ul><li>(00:00) - A Pie to the Face
</li>
<li>(01:00) - Welcome to Oh My Fraud
</li>
<li>(06:00) - Welcome to Flanders, Belgium
</li>
<li>(07:30) - Meet the Founders: Jo Lernout and Pol Hauspie
</li>
<li>(09:30) - The Dream of Voice Recognition
</li>
<li>(15:12) - Going Public in a Crowded Market
</li>
<li>(17:42) - Creating the Flanders Language Valley
</li>
<li>(21:42) - Gaston Bastiaens and His Wine Cellar Wager
</li>
<li>(26:23) - Microsoft's $45 Million Investment
</li>
<li>(29:23) - The Philosophy of Pie Throwing
</li>
<li>(30:53) - Explosive Growth and Suspicious Numbers
</li>
<li>(32:53) - Dragon Systems and Dictaphone Acquisitions
</li>
<li>(35:23) - The Korean Revenue Mystery
</li>
<li>(38:23) - Wall Street Journal Starts Digging
</li>
<li>(42:18) - "I Lied About Everything"
</li>
<li>(43:48) - The Resignation and Bankruptcy
</li>
<li>(47:48) - The SEC Reveals the Fraud
</li>
<li>(49:48) - Criminal Convictions and Symbolic Justice
</li>
<li>(50:48) - Lessons Learned: Fake It Till You Make It
</li>
<li>(52:18) - What Happened to the Technology
</li>
<li>(53:48) - Closing Thoughts</li>
</ul><br><strong>HOW TO EARN FREE CPE</strong><p>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.</p><p><a href="https://www.earmark.app/">https://www.earmark.app/</a></p><p><strong>Download the app:</strong></p><p>Apple: <a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/earmark-cpe/id1562599728">https://apps.apple.com/us/app/earmark-cpe/id1562599728</a><br>Android: <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.earmarkcpe.app">https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.earmarkcpe.app</a></p><p><strong>CONNECT WITH CALEB</strong><br>LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/calebnewquist/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/calebnewquist/</a></p><p><strong>Email us at ohmyfraud@earmarkcpe.com</strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong>Sources:</strong></p><ul><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150923221502/http://www.businessweek.com/2000/00_37/b3698218.htm">How Hype Hurt Lernout & Hauspie</a> [Bloomberg via Wayback Machine]</li><li><a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB976143929804554337">How High-Tech Dream Shattered In Scandal at Lernout & Hauspie</a> [WSJ]</li><li>Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products: Financing From Start-up through IPO [INSEAD, Herwig Langohr, Benoit Leleux, Danny Lein, July 2000, accessed on Sept. 16, 2025]</li><li>Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products: The Question [INSEAD, Arnoud De Meyer, Bart Pycke, January 1998, accessed on Sept. 16, 2025]</li><li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quarterdeck_Office_Systems">Quarterdeck Office Systems</a> [Wikipedia]</li><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1989/04/19/business/patent-is-won-by-quarterdeck.html?pagewanted=1">Patent Is Won By Quarterdeck</a> [NYT]</li><li><a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-09-15-fi-46262-story.html">Internet Hype Gives New Life to Quarterdeck Stock</a> [LAT]</li><li><a href="https://apple.fandom.com/wiki/Gaston_Bastiaens#Apple_Computer">Gaston Bastiaens</a> [Apple.Fandom]</li><li><a href="https://www.cultofmac.com/apple-history/newton-messagepad-wine-cellar-bet">Today in Apple history: Apple exec bets his wine cellar on Newton</a> [CultofMac]</li><li><a href="https://www.speechtechmag.com/Articles/Editorial/Features/STRATEGIC-ALLIANCE-Will-Microsofts-Stake-in-Lernout--Hauspie-Drive-Growth-in-Speech-29495.aspx">Will Microsoft's Stake in Lernout & Hauspie Drive Growth in Speech?</a> [Speech Technology Magazine]</li><li><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1998/02/05/business/in-brussels-gates-takes-a-pie-in-the-face.html">In Brussels, Gates Takes a Pie in the Face</a> [Reuters via Wayback Machine]</li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEMbp6Epfz8">Bill Gates Being Hit in the Face With a Pie (1998)</a> [YouTube]</li><li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No%C3%ABl_Godin">Noël Godin</a> [Wikipedia]</li><li><a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-dec-08-mn-61992-story.html">He Plasters Paris’ Elite With Cream Pies</a> [LAT]</li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-bE6XBlW6g">Bernard-Henri Levy Pied again in Belgium</a> [YouTube]</li><li><a href="https://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/602/523">FM Interviews: Noël Godin</a> [First Monday]</li><li><a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB96284078519661430">Lernout & Hauspie Shares Drop Amid Puzzling Revenue Results</a> [WSJ]</li><li><a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB965681326808059935">Lernout & Hauspie Surges In Korea, Raising Questions</a> [WSJ]</li><li><a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB967159514469801138">Lernout's Bastiaens Will Step Down From CEO Post at Software Concern</a> [WSJ]</li><li><a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB973730104680821382">Lernout to Refile Financial Reports; Co-Founders Resign as Chairmen</a> [WSJ]</li><li><a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB975523524232656108">Lernout Files for Bankruptcy Protection, Says Cash at South Korean Unit Is Missing</a> [WSJ]</li><li><a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-jan-01-fi-7088-story.html">The Talk of Flanders Has Most Speechless</a> [AP]</li><li><a href="https://www.sec.gov/enforcement-litigation/litigation-releases/lr-17782">Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products, N.V.</a>, Litigation Release No. 17782, Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Release No. 1648, October 10, 2002 [Securities and Exchange Commission]</li><li><a href="https://www.sec.gov/enforcement-litigation/litigation-releases/lr-18014#:~:text=Litigation%20Release%20No.&text=The%20result%20of%20this%20conduct,the%20United%20States%20and%20elsewhere.&text=In%20a%20related%20matter%2C%20on,17782.">Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products, N.V.</a>, Litigation Release No. 18014, March 4, 2003 [Securities and Exchange Commission]</li><li><a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703989304575503500899087566">Lernout & Hauspie Founders Guilty in Fraud</a> [WSJ]</li><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/15/business/goldman-sachs-and-a-sale-gone-horribly-awry.html">Goldman Sachs and the $580 Million Black Hole</a> [NYT]</li></ul>](https://us-central1-podcastguru-217d6.cloudfunctions.net/gcf_get_image?image_url=https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Podcasts221/v4/f5/14/1f/f5141fec-2d42-3a4c-d8a8-6291397c20c9/mza_12171869652753747463.jpg/600x600bb.jpg&width=300&height=300&api_key=xqFmUFX5BHLBTA)
Oh My Fraud
Caleb Newquist
The Belgian Waffle
OCT 8, 202554 MIN
The Belgian Waffle
OCT 8, 202554 MIN
Description
A scrappy Flemish speech recognition company tries to put its hometown on the global tech map.
Sponsors
Routable - http://ohmyfraud.promo/routable
Bluebook - http://ohmyfraud.promo/bluebook
- (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
- (15:12) - Going Public in a Crowded Market
- (17:42) - Creating the Flanders Language Valley
- (21:42) - Gaston Bastiaens and His Wine Cellar Wager
- (26:23) - Microsoft's $45 Million Investment
- (29:23) - The Philosophy of Pie Throwing
- (30:53) - Explosive Growth and Suspicious Numbers
- (32:53) - Dragon Systems and Dictaphone Acquisitions
- (35:23) - The Korean Revenue Mystery
- (38:23) - Wall Street Journal Starts Digging
- (42:18) - "I Lied About Everything"
- (43:48) - The Resignation and Bankruptcy
- (47:48) - The SEC Reveals the Fraud
- (49:48) - Criminal Convictions and Symbolic Justice
- (50:48) - Lessons Learned: Fake It Till You Make It
- (52:18) - What Happened to the Technology
- (53:48) - 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.
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 [email protected]
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]